{"title":"Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for SUNCT: A Case Series.","authors":"Andrea Franzini, Davide Milani, Luca Attuati, Pierina Navarria, Federico Pessina, Piero Picozzi","doi":"10.1159/000528632","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The treatment of medically refractory patients with chronic short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT) is challenging. Stereotactic radiosurgery targeting the trigeminal nerve and sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) has been used as a less-invasive treatment. The outcomes of this procedure have been described in a few case reports.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The objective of the study was to report on the effect of Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) in 5 patients with chronic SUNCT.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Retrospective review of our GKRS database identified 5 patients with chronic SUNCT who underwent GKRS targeted to the trigeminal nerve and SPG. A maximum dose of 80-85 Gy and 80 Gy was, respectively, delivered to the trigeminal nerve and SPG. Pain intensity and facial numbness were evaluated using the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) scores.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>These 5 patients were clinically followed for a mean period of 26.2 months. Within a period ranging from 2 days to 9 months, GKRS was successful in reducing pain attacks and autonomic symptoms in all 5 patients. At the last assessments, BNI pain scores of I, II, and IIIa were achieved in 1, 1, and 3 patients, respectively. Two patients developed nonbothersome facial numbness (BNI facial numbness score II).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These 5 cases show that GKRS targeted to both the trigeminal nerve and the SPG is effective in reducing pain and autonomic symptoms of patients with SUNCT, although nonbothersome trigeminal sensory disturbances may occur.</p>","PeriodicalId":22078,"journal":{"name":"Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery","volume":"101 2","pages":"86-92"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2023-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1159/000528632","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"NEUROIMAGING","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 1
Abstract
Background: The treatment of medically refractory patients with chronic short-lasting unilateral neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing (SUNCT) is challenging. Stereotactic radiosurgery targeting the trigeminal nerve and sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) has been used as a less-invasive treatment. The outcomes of this procedure have been described in a few case reports.
Objectives: The objective of the study was to report on the effect of Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) in 5 patients with chronic SUNCT.
Methods: Retrospective review of our GKRS database identified 5 patients with chronic SUNCT who underwent GKRS targeted to the trigeminal nerve and SPG. A maximum dose of 80-85 Gy and 80 Gy was, respectively, delivered to the trigeminal nerve and SPG. Pain intensity and facial numbness were evaluated using the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) scores.
Results: These 5 patients were clinically followed for a mean period of 26.2 months. Within a period ranging from 2 days to 9 months, GKRS was successful in reducing pain attacks and autonomic symptoms in all 5 patients. At the last assessments, BNI pain scores of I, II, and IIIa were achieved in 1, 1, and 3 patients, respectively. Two patients developed nonbothersome facial numbness (BNI facial numbness score II).
Conclusions: These 5 cases show that GKRS targeted to both the trigeminal nerve and the SPG is effective in reducing pain and autonomic symptoms of patients with SUNCT, although nonbothersome trigeminal sensory disturbances may occur.
期刊介绍:
''Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery'' provides a single source for the reader to keep abreast of developments in the most rapidly advancing subspecialty within neurosurgery. Technological advances in computer-assisted surgery, robotics, imaging and neurophysiology are being applied to clinical problems with ever-increasing rapidity in stereotaxis more than any other field, providing opportunities for new approaches to surgical and radiotherapeutic management of diseases of the brain, spinal cord, and spine. Issues feature advances in the use of deep-brain stimulation, imaging-guided techniques in stereotactic biopsy and craniotomy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and stereotactically implanted and guided radiotherapeutics and biologicals in the treatment of functional and movement disorders, brain tumors, and other diseases of the brain. Background information from basic science laboratories related to such clinical advances provides the reader with an overall perspective of this field. Proceedings and abstracts from many of the key international meetings furnish an overview of this specialty available nowhere else. ''Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery'' meets the information needs of both investigators and clinicians in this rapidly advancing field.