title: Hypertension of neurogenic origin: effect of microvascular decompression of the CN IX-X root entry/exit zone and ventrolateral medulla on blood pressure in a prospective series of 48 patients with hemifacial spasm associated with essential hypertension.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In spite of solid anatomical and physiological arguments and the promising results of Jannetta in the 1970s, treating essential hypertension by microvascular decompression (MVD) of the brainstem has not gained acceptance as a mainstream technique. The main reason has been a lack of established selection criteria. Because of this, the authors' attempts have been limited to patients referred for MVD for hemifacial spasm (HFS) who also had hypertension likely to be related to neurovascular compression (NVC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Of 201 patients referred for HFS, 48 (23.8%) had associated hypertension. All had high-resolution MR images that demonstrated NVC. All underwent MVD of the root exit/entry zone (REZ) of the ninth and tenth cranial nerves (CN IX-X) and adjacent ventrolateral medulla in addition to the CN VII REZ. Effects on hypertension, graded using the WHO classification, were studied up to the latest follow-up, which was 2-16 years from the time of surgery, 7 years on average. Also, effects of MVD on blood pressure (BP) according to the side of vascular compression were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Preoperatively, hypertension was severe in all but 1 of the patients; in spite of medical treatment, 47 patients still had WHO Grade 1 or 2 hypertension, and 18 still had unstable BP. After MVD, at latest follow-up, BP had returned to normal (i.e., systolic pressure < 140 mm Hg) in 28 patients; 14 of these patients (29.10% of the whole series) were able to maintain normal BP without any antihypertensive treatment; the other 14 still required some medication to maintain their BP below 140 mm Hg (p < 0.0001). Also, at latest follow-up, BP remained unstable in only 8 of the 18 patients with instability prior to MVD (p < 0.02). Analysis according to side of compression showed that of the 30 patients with left-sided compression, 17 had their BP normalized (without medication in 11 cases), and of the 18 patients with right-sided compression, 11 had their BP normalized (without medication in 3 cases). The difference between sides was not significant.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results argue for considering MVD for the treatment of hypertension likely to be due to NVC at the CN IX-X REZ and adjacent ventrolateral medulla. Criteria for selecting patients with hypertension alone still need to be established and could include the following indications: apparently essential hypertension, likely to be neurogenic, in patients in whom high-resolution MRI shows clear-cut images of NVC at the CN IX-X REZ and adjacent ventrolateral medulla and in whom BP cannot be controlled by medical treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Lyon 1, Hôpital Neurologique "Pierre Wertheimer," Lyon, France;
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sindou
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Lyon 1, Hôpital Neurologique "Pierre Wertheimer," Lyon, France;|Section of Neurosurgery, Regional Military Hospital of Oran (HMRUO), Oran, Algeria; and.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahmoudi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, University of Lyon 1, Hôpital Neurologique "Pierre Wertheimer," Lyon, France;|University of Medicine "Victor Babes," Timisoara, Romania.
authors.forename: Andrei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brînzeu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000075222:Essential Hypertension; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005930:Glossopharyngeal Nerve / Q000601:surgery*; D019569:Hemifacial Spasm / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000601:surgery*; D061145:Microvascular Decompression Surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014630:Vagus Nerve / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: AICA = anterior inferior cerebellar artery; BA = basilar artery; BP = blood pressure; CN = cranial nerve; ENMG = electroneuromyographic; GP = general practitioner; HFS = hemifacial spasm; MVD = microvascular decompression; NVC = neurovascular compression; PICA = posterior inferior cerebellar artery; REZ = root entry/exit zone; VA = vertebral artery; essential arterial hypertension; functional neurosurgery; glossopharyngeal nerve; medulla oblongata; microvascular decompression; neurogenic mechanism of hypertension; neurovascular compression; vagus nerve