Trigeminal neuralgia: current treatments and future developments.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a rare condition in which patients experience brief, unilateral recurrent episodes of sharp paroxysms of pain that can occur spontaneously or be induced by physical triggers. Although current pharmacotherapy allows most patients at least some degree of comfort, there remains a substantial number who do not have adequate pain management. This can arise as a consequence of the disorder proving to be refractory to drug treatment in an individual, or the manifestation of drug-related side effects at therapeutic doses. When this occurs, the only treatment option is a surgical procedure, which may vary in its level of invasiveness and effect. Therefore, there is a substantial need for new antineuralgic drugs. The aim of this review is to highlight the current pharmacotherapies and those emerging drug treatments which will invariably enhance the treatment options of patients with trigeminal neuralgia.