Symptoms and signs of cranial nerve pathology are common in internal medicine. They often develop in the context of a widespread neurologic disturbance, and in such situations, cranial nerve involvement may represent the initial manifestation of the illness. In other disorders, involvement is largely restricted to one or several cranial nerves; these distinctive disorders are reviewed in this chapter. Disorders of ocular movement are discussed in Chap. 25, disorders of hearing in Chap. 29, and vertigo and disorders of vestibular function in Chap. 12.

ANATOMIC CONSIDERATIONS

The trigeminal (fifth cranial) nerve supplies sensation to the skin of the face and anterior half of the head (Fig. 42-1). The motor part innervates the muscles involved in chewing (including masseters and pterygoids) as well as the tensor tympani of the middle ear (hearing especially for high-pitched tones). It is the largest of the cranial nerves. It exits in the lateral midpons and traverses the middle cranial fossa to the semilunar (gasserian, trigeminal) ganglion in Meckel’s cave, where the nerve divides into three divisions (ophthalmic [V1], maxillary [V2], and mandibular [V3]). V1 and V2 traverse the cavernous sinus to exit in the superior orbital fissure and foramen rotundum, located above and below the eye socket respectively; V3 exits through the foramen ovale. The trigeminal nerve is predominantly sensory, and motor innervation is exclusively carried in V3. The cornea is primarily innervated by V1, although an inferior crescent may be V2. Upon entering the pons, pain and temperature fibers descend ipsilaterally to the upper cervical spinal cord as the spinal tract of V, before synapsing with the spinal nucleus of V; this accounts for the facial numbness that can occur with spinal cord lesions above C2. In the brainstem, the spinal tract of V is also located adjacent to crossed ascending fibers of the spinothalamic tract, producing a “crossed” sensory loss for pain and temperature (ipsilateral face, contralateral arm/trunk/leg) with lesions of the lateral lower brainstem. CN V is also ensheathed by oligodendrocyte-derived, rather than Schwann cell–derived, myelin for up to 7 mm after it leaves the brainstem, unlike just a few millimeters for other cranial and spinal nerves; this may explain the high frequency of trigeminal neuralgia in multiple sclerosis (Chap. 45), a disorder of oligodendrocyte myelin.

TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA (TIC DOULOUREUX)

Clinical manifestations

Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by excruciating paroxysms of pain in the lips, gums, cheek, or chin and, very rarely, in the distribution of the ophthalmic division of the fifth nerve. The pain seldom lasts more than a few seconds or a minute or two but may be so intense that the patient winces, hence the term tic. The paroxysms, experienced as single jabs or clusters, tend to recur frequently, both day and night, for several weeks at a time. They may occur spontaneously or with movements of affected areas evoked by speaking, chewing, or smiling. Another characteristic feature is the presence of trigger zones, typically on the face, lips, or tongue, that provoke attacks; patients may report that tactile stimuli—e.g., washing the face, brushing the teeth, or exposure to a draft of air—generate excruciating pain. An essential feature of trigeminal neuralgia is that objective signs of sensory loss cannot be demonstrated on examination.

Trigeminal neuralgia is relatively common, with an estimated annual incidence of 4–8 per 100,000 individuals. Middle-aged and elderly persons are affected primarily, and ~60% of cases occur in women. Onset is typically sudden, and bouts tend to persist for weeks or months before remitting spontaneously. Remissions may be long-lasting, but in most patients, the disorder ultimately recurs.

Pathophysiology

Symptoms result from ectopic generation of action potentials in pain-sensitive afferent fibers of the fifth cranial nerve root just before it enters the lateral surface of the pons. Compression or other pathology in the nerve leads to demyelination of large myelinated fibers that do not themselves carry pain sensation but become hyperexcitable and electrically coupled with smaller unmyelinated or poorly myelinated pain fibers in close proximity; this may explain why tactile stimuli, conveyed via the large myelinated fibers, can stimulate paroxysms of pain. Compression of the trigeminal nerve root by a blood vessel, most often the superior cerebellar artery or on occasion a tortuous vein, is now believed to be the source of trigeminal neuralgia in most patients. In cases of vascular compression, age-related brain sagging and increased vascular thickness and tortuosity may explain the prevalence of trigeminal neuralgia in later life.

Differential diagnosis

Trigeminal neuralgia must be distinguished from other causes of face and head pain (Chap. 9) and from pain arising from diseases of the jaw, teeth, or sinuses. Pain from migraine or cluster headache tends to be deep-seated and steady, unlike the superficial stabbing quality of trigeminal neuralgia; rarely, cluster headache is associated with trigeminal neuralgia, a syndrome known as cluster-tic. In temporal arteritis, superficial facial pain is present but is not typically shock-like, the patient frequently complains of myalgias and other systemic symptoms, and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is usually present. When trigeminal neuralgia develops in a young adult or is bilateral, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a key consideration, and in such cases, the cause is a demyelinating plaque near the root entry zone of the fifth nerve in the pons; often, evidence of facial sensory loss can be found on careful examination. Cases that are secondary to mass lesions—such as aneurysms, neurofibromas, acoustic schwannomas, or meningiomas—usually produce objective signs of sensory loss in the trigeminal nerve distribution (trigeminal neuropathy, see below).

Laboratory evaluation

An ESR is indicated if temporal arteritis is suspected. In typical cases of trigeminal neuralgia, neuroimaging studies are usually unnecessary but may be valuable if MS is a consideration or in assessing overlying vascular lesions in order to plan for decompression surgery.

TREATMENT

TRIGEMINAL NEUROPATHY

A variety of diseases can affect the trigeminal nerve (Table 42-1). Most present with sensory loss on the face or with weakness of the jaw muscles. Deviation of the jaw on opening indicates weakness of the pterygoids on the side to which the jaw deviates. Some cases are due to Sjögren’s syndrome or a collagen-vascular disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, or mixed connective tissue disease. Among infectious causes, herpes zoster (acute or postherpetic) and leprosy should be considered. Tumors of the middle cranial fossa (meningiomas), of the trigeminal nerve (schwannomas), or of the base of the skull (metastatic tumors) may cause a combination of motor and sensory signs. Lesions in the cavernous sinus can affect the first and second divisions of the trigeminal nerve, and lesions of thesuperior orbital fissure can affect the first (ophthalmic) division; the accompanying corneal anesthesia increases the risk of ulceration (neurokeratitis).

Isolated sensory loss over the chin (mental neuropathy) can be the only manifestation of systemic malignancy. Rarely, an idiopathic form of trigeminal neuropathy is observed. It is characterized by numbness and paresthesias, sometimes bilaterally, with loss of sensation in the territory of the trigeminal nerve but without weakness of the jaw. Gradual recovery is the rule. Tonic spasm of the masticatory muscles, known as trismus, is symptomatic of tetanus or may occur in patients treated with phenothiazines.