What is the new treatment for Trigeminal neuralgia?
There is a continual effort to find new techniques or new drugs to treat trigeminal neuralgia. Search for drugs to give better pain relief with fewer side-effects is underway.
- Newer types of anti-convulsant drugs, longer acting drugs, and pain killer drugs that act by other routes are under investigation.
- Botox injection is a possible new alternative treatment.
- Electric and magnetic stimulation of the Trigeminal nerve through the head non-invasively are other treatment options being evaluated.
None of these shows much promise, as of today. We need to wait and watch.
What is Botox?
Botox is short for botulinum toxin. It’s popular use has been for treatment of facial wrinkles. Botox injection into the facial muscles is one of the newer treatment modalities for trigeminal neuralgia. It has not been found to be useful, and long-term studies are yet to be conducted.
How does Botox work?
Botox primarily acts by muscle paralysis, which is why it is useful in spasmic disorders, and muscle stiffness. It’s action in reducing facial pain is unclear.
Is Botox a new treatment for trigeminal neuralgia?
Yes, it is. It has been observed that botox injections reduce pain by less than 50%. The effect on pain relief is also very temporary. Botox injections also causes temporary ( a few weeks) facial paralysis on the side injected.
Is there anything new in Microvascular decompression surgery for trigeminal neuralgia?
Time-tested procedures like Microvascular decompression have seen improved techniques, advancements in optics of the neurosurgical microscope and better patient outcomes. MVD surgery, even today remains the procedure offering best treatment with a potential for a permanent solution to the problem. Dr Jaydev Panchwagh has operated on more than 1000 patients of trigeminal neuralgia. His series has a success rate of nearly 97-98%.