Pediatric Neurosurgery, Children's Hospital, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
World Neurosurg. 2013 May-Jun;79(5-6):763-7. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2012.03.023. Epub 2012 Apr 3.
Geniculate neuralgia, although uncommon, can be a debilitating pathology. Unfortunately, a thorough review of this pain syndrome and the clinical anatomy, function, and pathology of its most commonly associated nerve, the nervus intermedius, is lacking in the literature. Therefore, the present study aimed to further elucidate the diagnosis of this pain syndrome and its surgical treatment based on a review of the literature.
Using standard search engines, the literature was evaluated for germane reports regarding the nervus intermedius and associated pathology. A summary of this body of literature is presented.
Since 1968, only approximately 50 peer-reviewed reports have been published regarding the nervus intermedius. Most of these are single-case reports and in reference to geniculate neuralgia. No report was a review of the literature.
Neuralgia involving the nervus intermedius is uncommon, but when present, can be life altering. Microvascular decompression may be effective as a treatment. Along its cisternal course, the nerve may be difficult to distinguish from the facial nerve. Based on case reports and small series, long-term pain control can be seen after nerve sectioning or microvascular decompression, but no prospective studies exist. Such studies are now necessary to shed light on the efficacy of surgical treatment of nervus intermedius neuralgia.
膝状神经节痛虽然不常见，但可能是一种使人衰弱的病理。不幸的是，目前文献中缺乏对这种疼痛综合征及其最常相关神经——中间神经的临床解剖、功能和病理学的全面回顾。因此，本研究旨在通过文献复习进一步阐明这种疼痛综合征的诊断及其手术治疗。
使用标准搜索引擎，对有关中间神经及其相关病理学的相关报告进行了文献评估。总结了这些文献的主要内容。
自 1968 年以来，仅发表了大约 50 篇关于中间神经的同行评审报告。其中大多数是单一病例报告，涉及膝状神经节痛。没有一份报告是对文献的综述。
涉及中间神经的神经痛并不常见，但如果出现，可能会改变生活。微血管减压术可能是一种有效的治疗方法。在其脑池内走行过程中，神经可能难以与面神经区分。根据病例报告和小系列研究，神经切断或微血管减压术后可长期控制疼痛，但目前尚无前瞻性研究。有必要进行这些研究，以阐明中间神经痛的手术治疗效果。
