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Recent Advances of Magnetic Resonance Neuroimaging in Trigeminal Neuralgia

  • Neuromodulation (AA Abd-Elsayed, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Pain and Headache Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a disease of unclear pathogenesis. It has a low incidence and is not fatal, but it can cause afflicted patients’ depression or suicide. In the past, neurovascular compression was considered to be the main cause of TN, but recent studies have found that neurovascular contact is also common in asymptomatic patients and the asymptomatic side in symptomatic patients. This indicates that the neurovascular contact is not, or is only to a lesser extent, a factor in the development of TN. Thus, the study of the peripheral branches of the trigeminal nerve is necessary to understand the etiology of TN. With the development of imaging technology and the emergence of various imaging modalities, it is possible to study the etiology of TN and the pathological changes of related structures by magnetic resonance neuroimaging. This article reviews the recent advances in magnetic resonance neuroimaging of the trigeminal nerve.

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Data Availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

Abbreviations

TN:

trigeminal neuralgia

TGN:

trigeminal nerve

REZ:

root entry zone

MRN:

magnetic resonance neuroimaging

CN V:

fifth cranial nerve

V1:

ophthalmic branch

V2:

maxillary branch

V3:

mandibular branch

IAN:

inferior alveolar nerve

LN:

lingual nerve

MRI:

magnetic resonance imaging

NVC:

neurovascular compression

MS:

multiple sclerosis

3D-TOF-MRA:

three-dimensional time–of-flight magnetic resonance angiography

CSF:

cerebrospinal fluid

3D FIESTA:

three-dimensional fast imaging employing steady-state acquisition

SPGR:

spoiled gradient recalled echo

STIR:

short tau inversion recovery

DTI:

diffusion tensor imaging

FA:

fractional anisotropy

VAS:

visual analogue scale

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Acknowledgments

We thank LetPub (www.letpub.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Contributions

Initial concepts and framework were developed by CZ, ChuanZ, and HFY. Anatomy and pathophysiology data were collected and collated by CZ, YHL, and MJZ. Imaging data was collected and collated by ChuanZ, XF, and RHX. The initial manuscript was prepared by CZ, ChuanZ, and YHL. XF, MJZ, RHX, and HFY helped with the revision and additional comments. The final manuscript was prepared by CZ and ChuanZ. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Han-Feng Yang.

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Chuan Zhang and Chen Zeng are co-first authors.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Neuromodulation

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Zeng, C., Zhang, C., Li, YH. et al. Recent Advances of Magnetic Resonance Neuroimaging in Trigeminal Neuralgia. Curr Pain Headache Rep 25, 37 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-021-00957-0

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