Intensely painful trigeminal neuralgia illuminated “from bench to bed”
Posted on: 07 October 2016
The unusual, intensely painful condition of trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is under the spotlight as experts, clinicians and people living with the condition gather in Trinity College Dublin for a special symposium to mark Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Day on Friday October 7th.
TN is a chronic neurological disorder of the fifth cranial nerve in the brain, which causes extreme, sporadic, sudden burning or shock-like face pain. It is estimated to affect 1 in 20,000 people, but is often misdiagnosed and there is a lack of awareness surrounding the condition. Estimates suggest 700 – 1,000 people in Ireland are living with what is one of the most painful conditions known to science.
In a bid to increase awareness, famous buildings and structures across the globe are set to light up in teal-coloured lights on October 7th. Niagara Falls, the Perth Concert Hall, Trafalgar Square Fountains, the Mid-Hudson Bridge, and the Sichuan Tower will all be illuminated, while closer to home over 30 buildings and structures including the 3 Arena, National Concert Hall and Christ Church Cathedral will follow suit.
The Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute will open its doors from 6:00 – 9:30 pm for the Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Symposium, which is hosted by the Neuroscience Society and is open to the public, patients, carers, healthcare professionals, and the media. The theme is “from bench to bed”, as those in attendance will hear from researchers, clinicians and patients over the course of the night.
Professor Paul Durham, Director of Cell Biology and the Center for Biomedical and Life Sciences at Missouri State University is the keynote speaker. Professor Durham will be speaking about current research including the role of the trigeminal nerve in orofacial pain diseases involving the head and face such as migraine, temporomandibular joint disorder, and TN.
Professor Durham will discuss the surprising correlation that someone with one of these diseases is more likely to suffer concurrently from another orofacial disease, and also other disorders affecting the gut such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). He will also highlight new developments in the treatment of TN and other orofacial pain diseases.
Dr Josh Keaveny, consultant pain management specialist from Beaumont Hospital and the sports surgery clinic, specialises in treating people living with TN. He will talk about the medical and surgical treatments currently open to patients, which include anticonvulsants, antidepressants, microvascular decompression, nerve blocks, or radiofrequency ablation.
Professor David Finn, president of the Irish Pain Society, and co-founder and co-director of the Pain Research Center in Galway, will speak about chronic pain trials and the management of chronic pain. There will then be an open panel discussion.
Research Assistant in the Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Carol Murray, said: “This symposium is all about educating, creating awareness and providing hope to patients living with a truly horrendous disorder. I have lived with trigeminal neuralgia for the past 18 years and am lucky that I do not have it chronically – though I do get it acutely and severely. I have been hospitalised for months and weeks during episodes and it has affected other organs such as my heart and stomach.”
“Trigeminal neuralgia is a debilitating condition to the point that every day actions that most people don’t think twice about doing, such as talking, smiling, eating, or even just brushing their hair, can trigger excruciating pain for people living with it. This doesn’t just impact on patients, but also on their families and loved ones.”
The symposium is free to attend, but people should register in advance by emailing tgnas2016@gmail.com.
The symposium is kindly sponsored by Mundipharma, the Irish Pain Society, Neuroscience Ireland, Novartis and Neurosoc TCD. Grunenthal and Chronic Pain Ireland are also sponsors, and those two bodies have started a campaign called ‘mypainfeelslike…’, which is supported by Multiple Sclerosis Ireland and the Parkinson’s Association of Ireland.
‘mypainfeelslike…’ is a national campaign that aims to raise awareness of pain and support patients when communicating with healthcare professionals. The new ‘mypainfeelslike…’ questionnaire – available at mypainfeelslike.ie – has been developed as a tool to enable communication between patients and healthcare professionals. The questionnaire helps people with localised nerve pain, like TN, describe their pain e.g. ‘shooting pain’ or ‘electric shocks’ when speaking to their doctor.