Trigeminal neuropathy in progressive systemic sclerosis.

Trigeminal neuropathy was identified in 16 (4 percent) of 442 consecutive patients with progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) who were first evaluated during the period between 1972 and 1980. These cases, together with 25 others that are adequately documented in the literature, were reviewed and compared with the 426 cases of PSS (96 percent) without trigeminal neuropathy. Trigeminal neuropathy occurred most frequently in young women with PSS in overlap with other disorders, particularly the mixed connective tissue disease syndrome with clinical evidence of myositis. Serum antibodies to ribonucleoprotein were identified in nine (45 percent) of 20 PSS patients with trigeminal neuropathy as compared to 25 (8 percent) of 329 PSS patients without trigeminal neuropathy. Leukopenia, hypothyroidism, and Sjögren's syndrome were also found to be associated with trigeminal neuropathy.