Disease statistics

One of the most common types of facial pain is neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve, which received its name in 1671, and for the first time, this disease was described in the letters in the first century of the last millennium by a healer named Aretaeus. He described in detail the disease that occurs with painful bouts of pain in half of the face.

The prevalence of trigeminal neuralgia (NTN) is quite high and amounts to 30-50 patients per 100 000 population, and the incidence according to the WHO is in the range of 2 to 4 people per 10 000 population. According to the WHO, more than 1 million people suffer from neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve worldwide.

More often this suffering occurs in women in the right half of the face at the age of 50 – 70 years. The development of the disease contributes to various vascular, endocrine, metabolic, allergic disorders, as well as psychogenic factors. But most often the cause of the disease is not clear.

Symptoms of the neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve

Tearing a patient attack pain in the face (lips, eyes, nose, upper and lower jaw, gums, tongue) can occur spontaneously or provoked by talking, chewing, brushing teeth, touching certain areas of the face (trigger points). Their frequency varies from individual to tens and hundreds a day. In the period of exacerbation, more often in the cold season, seizures become more frequent. The pain is so strong that the patients cannot concentrate on anything else. Patients at this time are in constant tension, close on their senses and exist, not noticing anything around, only constantly waiting for another attack. Sometimes patients, unable to bear more pain, end their lives by suicide. Even during periods of remission, patients live in fear, fearing the exacerbation of the disease, walk, close their head even in the summer, do not touch the sick half of the face, do not brush their teeth, or chew on the side of the lesion.

The first treatment quite often occurs not to the neurologist, but to the dentist. This is due to the fact that the area of spread of pain is located not only on the face but also in the oral cavity. Very often on the affected side, by mistake, remove healthy teeth.

Despite the fact that the disease has been known for a long time, there is still no consensus on the causes of its occurrence.

At present, many researchers believe that neuralgia can be provoked by the pressure of a blood vessel (artery or vein) on a part of the nerve, thus causing a change in the nerve shell (demyelination). Changing the nerve shell, in turn, leads to a change in the passage of nerve impulses, causing the appearance of pathological excitability of the nerve and, ultimately, the occurrence of pain. The cause of local changes in the nerve shell can also be the pressure of the tumor on the nerve, the pressure of the wall of the narrowed bony canal along which the nerve passes. The shell can be damaged in case of viral diseases (herpes) or in multiple sclerosis.

Highly qualified specialists of the DMC clinic will help to treat neuralgia of the trigeminal nerve. Please contact us and our specialists will help you  +99895 475 03 03