Familial trigeminal neuralgia and contralateral hemifacial spasm.
A patient was evaluated with familial trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and contralateral hemifacial spasm. The mother of the patient, 5 of 10 siblings, and 1 nephew also had TN confirmed by neurologists. The transmission of TN was suggestive of an autosomal dominant inheritance. This family provides additional evidence of a genetic basis for TN in selected cases and also provokes further speculation on a common unifying hypothesis of pathophysiology in cranial rhizopathies.
Duff
J M
JM
Department of Neurosurgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Spinner
R J
RJ
Lindor
N M
NM
Dodick
D W
DW
Atkinson
J L
JL
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D005799:Genes, Dominant; D019569:Hemifacial Spasm / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010375:Pedigree; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology