aetiology
Last reviewed 01/2018
Exact cause of trigeminal neuralgia remains unclear (1)
- most cases are considered idiopathic (1)
- many are associated with demyelination of the trigeminal nerve. This can be due to
- vascular compression of the nerve root by aberrant or tortuous vessels
- multiple sclerosis or tumours affecting the nerve root. (1)
Several other causes have been described as well in which demyelination may also be an underlying cause e.g. - amyloid infiltration, arteriovenous malformations, bony compression, and small infarcts in the pons and medulla (1).
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