How is glossopharyngeal nerve treated?
How is glossopharyngeal nerve treated?
The goal of treatment is to control pain. The most effective drugs are antiseizure medicines such as carbamazepine. Antidepressants may help certain people. In severe cases, when pain is difficult to treat, surgery to take pressure off the glossopharyngeal nerve may be needed.
Can GPN be cured?
However, for many patients, medical therapy may not be fully effective. Over time, microvascular decompression (MVD), a surgical procedure, has become an effective treatment for persistent GPN. A majority of patients that undergo MVD achieve long-term pain relief.
What doctor treats Glossopharyngeal neuralgia?
Glossopharyngeal pain can be similar to trigeminal neuralgia – and misdiagnosed. Be sure to see a neurosurgeon who specializes in facial pain who can make the distinction.
What can irritate the glossopharyngeal nerve?
In some cases, the source of the irritation is found to be increased pressure on the glossopharyngeal nerve, such as an abnormally positioned artery, growths at the base of the skull, an infection, an injury, or tumors of the throat, mouth, or brain.
Is there a cure for glossopharyngeal neuralgia?
Medications can provide relief to patients with glossopharyngeal neuralgia, but many people require increasing doses, which can lead to difficult side effects. When this happens, one treatment option at UPMC is microvascular decompression.
How is Gamma Knife radiosurgery used to treat glossopharyngeal neuralgia?
Gamma Knife Radiosurgery (GK or SRS): While this has been used much more commonly in trigeminal neuralgia (similar disorder of a different nerve), it has been used in a small number of cases of difficult-to-treat glossopharyngeal neuralgia. A frame is placed on the head and MRI/CT pictures are taken.
How to diagnose glossopharyngeal neuralgia and vagal?
Also, many patients with glossopharyngeal neuralgia present with pain that has a certain trigger, such as yawning or cold food, 10 which our patient did not have. Our diagnosis was based primarily on the patient’s history and pain description, with the physical examination only solidifying our initial impression.
How is microvascular decompression used for glossopharyngeal neuralgia?
Microvascular decompression: This procedure is the most common surgical technique for treating glossopharyngeal neuralgia. It is performed under general anesthesia. The surgeon will make an incision and a small opening in the bone behind the ear on the side of the head where pain occurs.
What are the treatment options for glossopharyngeal neuralgia?
Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia Treatment Options. Glossopharyngeal neuralgia treatment includes medications, injections and in certain cases, which do not respond well to any treatment, surgical options may be considered. The first-line treatment of glossopharyngeal neuralgia is medical therapy.
What causes pain in the glossopharyngeal nerve?
Compression of the glossopharyngeal nerve by a blood vessel near the brainstem may irritate the nerve and cause pain. In other cases, an elongated styloid process (a bone in the neck near the nerve) can cause pain. This condition is called Eagle syndrome. Trauma due to an injury or a surgical procedure may also result in glossopharyngeal neuralgia.
How often can you take pregabalin for glossopharyngeal neuropathy?
A diagnosis of glossopharyngeal neuropathy was made based on these findings, and pregabalin was prescribed, starting at 50 mg once a day and gradually titrated up to 100 mg three times a day within a week.
How is glossopharyngeal neuralgia inherited from a parent?
Inheritance Inheritance. In most cases, glossopharyngeal neuralgia is caused by irritation of the glossopharyngeal nerve and is not inherited (passed down from parent to child). In most cases, a person with glossopharyngeal neuralgia is the only person with the disorder in the family.