Somesthetic, gustatory, olfactory function and salivary flow in patients with neuropathic trigeminal pain.
OBJECTIVE
To determine somesthetic, olfactory, gustative and salivary abnormalities in patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS), idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN) and trigeminal postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).


METHODS
Twenty patients from each group (BMS, ITN, PHN) and 60 healthy controls were evaluated with a systematized quantitative approach of thermal (cold and warm), mechanical, pain, gustation, olfaction and salivary flow; data were analyzed with ANOVA, Tukey, Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn tests with a level of significance of 5%.


RESULTS
There were no salivary differences among the groups with matched ages; the cold perception was abnormal only at the mandibular branch of PHN (P = 0.001) and warm was abnormal in all trigeminal branches of PHN and BMS; mechanical sensitivity was altered at the mandibular branch of PHN and in all trigeminal branches of BMS. The salty, sweet and olfactory thresholds were higher in all studied groups; the sour threshold was lower and there were no differences of bitter.


CONCLUSIONS
All groups showed abnormal thresholds of gustation and olfaction; somesthetic findings were discrete in ITN and more common in PHN and BMS; central mechanisms of balance of sensorial inputs might be underlying these observations.
Siviero
M
M
Orofacial Pain Team, Department of Neurology, Medical School, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Teixeira
M J
MJ
de Siqueira
J T T
JT
Siqueira
S R D T
SR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002054:Burning Mouth Syndrome / Q000503:physiopathology; D003080:Cold Temperature; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008340:Mandibular Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D051474:Neuralgia, Postherpetic / Q000503:physiopathology; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism*; D012636:Secretory Rate / Q000502:physiology; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D013697:Thermosensing / Q000502:physiology; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve / Q000503:physiopathology; D014277:Trigeminal Neuralgia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult