The frequency of trigeminal neuralgia in multiple sclerosis patients referred to Iranian MS Association during 2004-2005

It has been reported that some patients with multiple sclerosis may develop trigeminal neuralgia (TN) that may cause the loss of patient’s intact teeth when incorrectly diagnosed by dentists. This study was conducted with the aim of assessing the frequency of trigeminal neuralgia in MS patients who were referred to the Iranian MS Association during 2004-2005. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 179 MS patients whose diagnosis was confirmed by MRI protocol. Patients were selected randomly among those who participated in educational courses at the Iranian MS Association. The data was collected by questionnaire, interview and clinical examinations. The collected information was analyzed by student-t and fisher’s exact tests. The study showed that 7.8% of MS patients to have definitive signs of TN while detection of such involvement was not so clear in 2.8% of cases. About 76.5% of all patients were females and the rest (23.5%) were males. About 36.8% of TN patients showed some manifestations in the maxilla, 31.6% in the eye region, and 21.1% in the mandible. About 10.5% of the manifestations have occurred in the right side, 47.4% in the left and 42.1% in both sides. Seven patients (36.8%) demonstrated with trigger zones. Only about 10.6% of studied MS patients demonstrated trigeminal neuralgia. The ratio of TN development in patients with history of Baclofen usage was less than nonusers.