title: Cerebral vasodilation after the thermocoagulation of the trigeminal ganglion in humans.
abstract: The resulting changes in the regional cerebral blood flow of 18 patients suffering from idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia and treated by selective thermocoagulation of the trigeminal ganglion were measured by xenon-133 emission tomography. One hour after thermal stimulation, there was an asymmetric increase (P < 0.05) in cerebral blood flow, with a 14.7% mean increase in the ipsilateral cerebral hemisphere (P < 0.001) and a 12.7% mean increase in the contralateral side (P < 0.01). The increase in regional cerebral blood flow was not uniform but was most marked in the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery territory (P < 0.001). There was a slight decrease in cerebellar blood flow, but the reduction in the ipsilateral cerebellar lobe was less than that in the contralateral lobe (P < 0.01). The topography of the most significant changes coincided with that of the innervation of the cerebral vessels by the trigeminal nerve. Several mechanisms are involved in the increase in regional cerebral blood flow, including overall nonspecific activation of the central nervous system and local mechanisms associated with the trigeminal-vascular system.
authors.affiliation: Service d'Explorations Fonctionnelles du Systèmes Nerveux, Hôpital Lariboisière, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Y R
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Tran Dinh
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thurel
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cunin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serrie
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seylaz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply*; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D004564:Electrocoagulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000294:innervation*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D012668:Trigeminal Ganglion / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000502:physiology*; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes
chemical_list: D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes