Cyberknife (Accuray Inc) relieves pain of Trigeminal Neuralgia facial nerve condition

Cyberknife, the Intensity Modulated RadioTherapy system from Accuray Inc, can relieve the stabbing pain of the facial nerve condition Trigeminal Neuralgia. Researchers treated 17 patients with Trigeminal Neuralgia with Cyberknife radiosurgery between 2007 and 2009. The patients, who were aged between 36 and 90, had had their symptoms for between one and 11 years and had not responded to the available treatment options. The researchers zapped a 6mm length of trigeminal nerve, just 2 to 3mm from the root, using a maximum radiation dose of 73.06 Gy. The patients were then monitored regularly after the procedure, for an average of just under 12 months. Complete data were available for 16 patients, 14 of whom obtained either partial or complete relief from their symptoms. The average time before symptom relief occurred was just under two months, but varied from three weeks to six months. Four patients relapsed after the procedure, between three and 18 months later. No patient experienced major complications as a result of the procedure, and only two patients reported any sensory side effects. See: >"Cyberknife radiosurgery in treating trigeminal neuralgia" by Bryan M Lazzara et al. Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery (2012). doi:10.1136/neurintsurg-2011-010125