Association of vascular compression in trigeminal neuralgia versus other "facial pain syndromes" by magnetic resonance imaging.

Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 13 patients with trigeminal neuralgia and 18 control patients with facial pain of other types. Among trigeminal neuralgia patients, eight (62%) had vessels seen abutting, or immediately adjacent to, the trigeminal nerve on the side of their symptoms. Only three control patients (17%) had such vessels. The proportion of patients having a trigeminal region vessel associated with their symptoms was significantly higher in patients with trigeminal neuralgia than in controls (p = 0.0086). These findings provide evidence supporting the theory that trigeminal neuralgia is associated with vascular compression of the fifth cranial nerve.