Acta Neurologica Scandinavica · 1989 · 37 citations · 26 references
In the material of patients with trigeminal neuralgia treated by retrogasserian glycerol injection at the Karolinska Hospital, 23 cases (8%) were also diagnosed as suffering from disseminated sclerosis. These patients were often on carbamazepine treatment before the procedure, a regimen known to cause severe side effects and increase pre-existing symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis. Following glycerol injection, more than 90% became pain-free within the first 2 months and 82% could discontinue drug therapy. This initial outcome corresponds well to the results in our larger series, but the long-term results in the group with multiple sclerosis is less satisfactory, with 61% recurrence at follow-up 8-79 months following treatment. In total 48% were pain-free at follow-up, following reinjections in 8 cases. In spite of less satisfactory long-term results, more than three-fourths of the patients wanted another glycerol injection after only low-dose trial with carbamazepine in case of recurrence.
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