[Glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Not just pain]

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is a rare disease characterized by severe paroxysmal attacks of pain in the distribution of the 9th cranial nerve. The most important differential diagnosis is trigeminal neuralgia. Carbamazepin is the current drug of choice in therapy, but modern neurosurgical treatment will probably become more common in the future. Autonomic disturbances may occur during pain attacks in some patients. We describe a patient suffering from glossopharyngeal neuralgia with transitory unconsciousness due to cardiac asystole and arterial hypotension accompanying the attack of pain.