Trigeminal Neuralgia — Research Summary
Printed from RareWays (rareways.com.au) on 12 September 2026
For general awareness only. Not medical advice. Discuss all care options with your healthcare team.
5 Most Recent Research Articles
- 1.
Documented preoperative depression is not significantly associated with pain outcomes following microvascular decompression for Type 1 trigeminal neuralgia.
Carnovale Benjamin J et al. — Clinical neurology and neurosurgery (1 December 2026)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42641284/
- 2.
Motor-related white matter tracts are prominently affected in primary trigeminal neuralgia.
Pashkov Anton et al. — Clinical neurology and neurosurgery (1 November 2026)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42551242/
- 3.
Retrosigmoid craniotomy surgical guide: The way forward for precise exposure of the transverse-sigmoid sinuses.
Lim Jia Xu et al. — Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia (1 November 2026)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42617496/
- 4.
Percutaneous balloon compression followed by perineural methylprednisolone for trigeminal neuralgia: A 50-patient retrospective series with 12-month outcomes.
Soliman Ahmed Y et al. — Clinical neurology and neurosurgery (1 October 2026)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42284923/
- 5.
Prognostic impact of multi-divisional trigeminal neuralgia on pain outcomes following microvascular decompression.
McKay William et al. — Clinical neurology and neurosurgery (1 October 2026)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42314543/
Source: RareWays research directory. Data from PubMed, Europe PMC, OpenAlex, ClinicalTrials.gov.
Always verify information with your healthcare team before making any decisions about your care.
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia causes sudden, severe, stabbing pain in the face, usually on one side. Attacks can be set off by everyday things such as chewing, talking, shaving or a light touch. It is often caused by a blood vessel pressing on the trigeminal nerve. Treatment usually starts with nerve pain medicines, with surgical or radiosurgical options if these do not help.
Most Recent Research
BACKGROUND: Depression is a common comorbidity among patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Although microvascular decompression (MVD) provides durable pain relief for medically refractory TN, prior studies have associated depression with poorer outcomes in heterogeneous TN cohorts. Whether this relationship exists specifically in Type 1 TN (TN1) remains unclear. This study evaluated whether documented preoperative depression was associated with early or long-term pain outcomes following MVD for TN1. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed MVD procedures performed for classical TN1 at a single academic institution between 2016 and 2025. Depression status was determined by retrospective review of documented diagnoses in the electronic medical record at the time of surgery. Primary outcomes included pain relief at first, last, and long-term (>1 year) follow-up using the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) scale, with BNI IIIb-V considered inadequate pain relief. Time-to-recurrence was evaluated using Cox and Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS: Among 289 MVD procedures, median follow-up was 7.16 months [IQR: 0.66-33.6]; among 131 patients with >1 year follow-up, median follow-up was 35.3 months [IQR: 22.9-61.2]. Forty-nine patients (17.0%) had documented depression. Patients with documented depression were younger (p < 0.001) and more often female (p = 0.004). Adequate pain relief at first, last, and long-term follow-up did not differ by documented depression status (p = 1.00, p = 0.794, and p = 0.471, respectively). Recurrence-free pain relief was similar between patients with and without documented depression (p = 0.723). CONCLUSION: This study did not identify a statistically significant association between documented preoperative depression and postoperative pain outcomes following MVD for TN1. Given its prevalence, depression remains an important consideration in TN care.
Common Questions
What is Trigeminal Neuralgia?
Trigeminal neuralgia causes sudden, severe, stabbing pain in the face, usually on one side. Attacks can be set off by everyday things such as chewing, talking, shaving or a light touch. It is often caused by a blood vessel pressing on the trigeminal nerve. Treatment usually starts with nerve pain medicines, with surgical or radiosurgical options if these do not help.
How many clinical trials are available for Trigeminal Neuralgia?
RareWays currently indexes 104 clinical trials for Trigeminal Neuralgia, of which 22 are actively recruiting. Trial availability changes as new studies are registered — check the trials tab for current status.
Where does the research data for Trigeminal Neuralgia come from?
RareWays aggregates research from PubMed, Europe PMC, OpenAlex, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Data is updated regularly by Rocky, RareWays' automated research engine. All articles and trials link directly to their original sources.
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This information is for general awareness only.
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