Atypical facial pain, ectasia of the basilar artery, and baclofen: a case report.
Atypical facial pain is a clinical syndrome of facial pain that has been related to depression but whose pathogenesis is not known. We describe a 72-year-old woman with a chronic facial pain, and ectasia and left sided deviation of the basilar artery, that responded dramatically to baclofen. This case suggests that vascular compression of the trigeminal nerve may be one of the mechanisms producing this syndrome and in these cases it might respond to baclofen.
Martins
I P
IP
Ferro
J M
JM
D000368:Aged; D001418:Baclofen / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001488:Basilar Artery / Q000002:abnormalities*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009408:Nerve Compression Syndromes / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve
D001418:Baclofen