Systematic Review Under the Light of a Quantitative Aspect: Trigeminal Neuralgia in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis
Antônio Andrade de Margalho, Isabela Thereza Gobo Viotto, Dante Picciotti, Raphael Vinicius Gonzaga Vieira, Renata Farias Simm, Paulo Henrique Pires de Aguiar, Jorge Roberto PaguraAbstract
Between 4 and 7%1 3 4 5 6 7 of individuals diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) also develop trigeminal neuralgia (TN), with an estimated incidence of 9.9 per 100,000 people per year.3 The exact pathophysiological mechanism to develop TN in MS remains unclear, though demyelination has been strongly associated with both conditions.
To review the prevalence of TN in patients with MS.
A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases. From 57 initially identified articles, only 10 met the eligibility criteria and specifically addressed the prevalence of TN in MS patients. Ethical approval or patient consent was not required for the present study.
The pooled prevalence of TN in MS patients was estimated at 4 to 7%. Although relatively uncommon, TN represents one of the most frequent complications in MS.
Notably, the amount of pain experienced is greater in MS-related TN compared with classical TN. This association significantly impacts patients' quality of life. The evidence suggests that TN in MS is associated with greater pain intensity, earlier onset and poorer treatment response compared to idiopathic TN.