Structural abnormalities of trigeminal root with neurovascular compression revealed by high resolution diffusion tensor imaging

Objective: To detect neurovascular compression-induced structural abnormalities of trigeminal nerves (TGN) by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).

Methods: The affected ipsilateral TGN (iTGN) and unaffected contralateral TGN (cTGN) of 20 trifacial neuralgia (TN) patients as well as the bilateral TGN of 10 normal controls (nTGN) were examined by DTI and 3D high resolution MRI using a 3.0 T MRI scanner. The fractional anisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) were determined.

Results: Compared with the cTGN and nTGN, the iTGN had significantly lower fraction of anisotropy (FA), significantly higher ADC, and significantly smaller volume and cross-sectional area (P<0.05).

Conclusions: The increase in ADC and decrease in FA has a close relationship with morphological changes of TGN, and the DTI could provide valuable diagnostic information on TGN structure for TN patients.