Isolated trigeminal sensory neuropathy: a heterogeneous group of disorders

Neuropathy affecting the face is a serious sign that warrants thorough and often multidisciplinary investigation. Patients with isolated trigeminal sensory neuropathy (TSN) should be monitored for connective tissue disease, and some may develop multiple sclerosis or paroxysmal trigeminal neuralgia. A patient with chronic isolated TSN and Sjôgren's syndrome, Raynaud's phenomenon, arthropathy, vitiligo, and evidence of other immune dysregulation is presented. The literature is reviewed with respect to the heterogeneous etiology of TSN, and an attempt is made to identify subgroups and to evaluate prognosis from details of the history and systemic disorder associations.