Effect of the gamma knife treatment on the trigeminal nerve root in Chinese patients with primary trigeminal neuralgia.

AIM: To understand the mechanism of the gamma knife treating the trigeminal neuralgia.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

Using the MASEP-SRRS type gamma knife treatment system, 140 Chinese patients with trigeminal neuralgia (NT) were treated in our hospital from 2002 to 2010, in which the pain relief rate reached 95% and recurrence rate was 3% only. We investigated the effect of the gamma knife treatment on the trigeminal nerve root in 20 Chinese patients with primary trigeminal neuralgia by the magnetic resonance imager (MRI) observation.

RESULTS

1) The cross-sectional area of trigeminal nerve root became smaller and MRI signals were lower in the treatment side than those in the non-treatment side after the gamma knife treatment of primary trigeminal neuralgia; 2) in the treatment side, the cross-sectional area of the trigeminal nerve root decreased significantly after the gamma knife treatment; 3) there was good correlation between the clinical improvement and the MRI findings; and 4) the straight distance between the trigeminal nerve root and the brainstem did not change after the gamma knife treatment.

CONCLUSION

The pain relief induced the gamma knife radiosurgery might be related with the atrophy of the trigeminal nerve root in Chinese patients with primary trigeminal neuralgia.