Grasso Giovanni, Passalacqua Marcello, Giambartino Filippo, Cacciola Fabio, Caruso Gerardo, Tomasello Francesco
University of Palermo, Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Neurosurgical Clinic, Palermo, Italy.
Turk Neurosurg. 2014;24(1):82-5. doi: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.7048-12.0.
Trigeminal neuralgia is a disabling form of facial pain that causes a considerable discomfort and a marked reduction in the quality of life. Although neurovascular compression is often associated with trigeminal neuralgia, other intracranial pathologies can result in compression along the nerve.
The authors report a case of a patient suffering from a typical left trigeminal neuralgia affecting both the second and the third branches. Neuroradiological examinations showed the presence of an arachnoid cyst located in the left temporal lobe, contiguous with the Meckel's cave, eroding the greater wing of the sphenoid bone. Following a meticulous decision-making process the patient underwent conservative treatment with success. A properly modulation of the drug dosage allowed pain relief to be achieved.
This is a rare case reporting a typical trigeminal neuralgia by an arachnoid cyst of the Meckel's cave mimicking a neurovascular compression syndrome. Our findings, behind the review of the current literature, point out the importance of such a pathological condition when dealing with patients affected by cranial nerve dysfunction syndrome.
三叉神经痛是一种导致面部疼痛的致残性疾病，会引起相当大的不适，并显著降低生活质量。虽然神经血管压迫常与三叉神经痛相关，但其他颅内病变也可导致沿神经的压迫。
作者报告了一例典型的左侧三叉神经痛患者，累及第二和第三支。神经放射学检查显示左侧颞叶存在一个蛛网膜囊肿，与 Meckel 腔相邻，侵蚀蝶骨大翼。经过细致的决策过程，患者接受保守治疗并取得成功。适当调整药物剂量实现了疼痛缓解。
这是一例罕见病例，报告了 Meckel 腔的蛛网膜囊肿模拟神经血管压迫综合征导致典型三叉神经痛。我们在回顾当前文献后的研究结果指出，在处理受颅神经功能障碍综合征影响的患者时，这种病理状况的重要性。
