Trigeminal Neuralgia: a Cautionary Tale

Trigeminal neuralgia is one of the paroxysmal symptoms of multiple sclerosis and may appear in the prodromal stage of this degenerative disease. A patient is described who was diagnosed as suffering from idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia and subsequently developed symptoms of generalised neurological disease, diagnosed as multiple sclerosis. Clinicians should be cautious when diagnosing younger patients as suffering from idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia and all suspicious cases should be referred to a neurologist for full assessment.