Trigeminal Sensory Neuropathy

Abstract

Ten patients had varying degrees of sensory disturbance confined to the fifth cranial nerve. The second and third divisions were most commonly affected, but motor paresis and pain were notably absent, and the corneal reflex invariably retained. Five out of the 10 patients completely recovered over periods of a few weeks to months; in the remaining five, symptoms persisted to a variable extent. In one of the latter group trigeminal neuralgia developed. It is postulated that the condition parallels other transient cranial-nerve palsies — namely, those affecting the seventh and perhaps the sixth nerve —in which recovery frequently occurs.