Bodo Paul Josef Kress MD, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Markus Schindler, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Dirk Rasche MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Volker Tronnier MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Klaus Sartor MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Christoph Stippich MD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

To assess how often a close proximity between a vessel and the trigeminal nerve is found in volunteers without episodes of unilateral facial pain.

Fifty volunteers (who did not have trigeminal neuralgia as tested by a standardized questionnaire ) underwent cranial nerve MRI prospectively (T1FLASH 3D vibe [0.9 mm isovoxel], T2 TRUE FISP [0.3 mm isovoxel] coronal orientation, sagittal MPR). Two radiologists evaluated the images and reached a concensus as to whether there was an adjacency (no CSF between nerve and vessel) or not.

All examinations resulted in high quality images that could be evaluated. Of the 50 volunteers 41 (82%) showed a close proximity between nerve and vessel (30/41 volunteers: superior cerebellar artery; 5/41 volunteers: anterior inferior cerebellar artery; 6/41 volunteers: petrosal veins).

The finding of a close proximity between cranial nerves and vessels does not have any pathological significance because - in contrast to findings in retrospective studies -, nearly every volunteer showed a close proximity between vessel and trigeminal nerve in this prospective study. Additional signs are thus needed, such as atrophy and distortion of the cranial nerve, to appreciate the relevance of the nerve vessel conflict in MR imaging.

Kress, B, Schindler, M, Rasche, D, Tronnier, V, Sartor, K, Stippich, C, Is an Adjacency between Cranial Nerves and Vessels Physiological?.  Radiological Society of North America 2004 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 28 - December 3, 2004 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2004/4403205.html