Diffusion tensor imaging of the trigeminal nerve in patients with trigeminal neuralgia due to multiple sclerosis

Neurovascular compression (NVC) is the most common cause of trigeminal neuralgia (TN), leading to microstructural changes in the affected nerve detectable using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). But TN may also emerge as a symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of this study was to evaluate if patients with MS-related TN feature the same DTI characteristics as patients with TN caused by NVC.

Twelve patients with MS-related TN, 12 age-matched patients with NVC-related TN, and 12 healthy controls were included. Using 3T-DTI, mean fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were calculated for each affected and contralateral trigeminal nerve in patients with MS and NVC-related TN as well as healthy controls. Furthermore, presence of NVC was evaluated for patients with TN.

There was no significant difference concerning FA or ADC when comparing the affected and the non-affected sides in patients with MS. FA was significantly lower and ADC higher in patients with MS on the TN affected as well as on the non-affected side compared to the non-affected side of patients with idiopathic TN or healthy controls. Likewise, FA was significantly lower on the affected side compared to the non-affected side in patients with idiopathic TN or healthy controls. NVC was evident in 41.7/0% on the affected/contralateral side in MS patients and 100/8% in the patients with NVC-related TN.

In patients with MS-related TN, DTI reveals microstructural changes within the trigeminal nerve not only on the affected side but also on the clinically non-affected side.