Study on the Relation Between MRI Findings and Acupuncture Effect in Trigeminal Neuralgia Patients

Objective： To observe the relationship between acupuncture and MRI （Magnetic Resonance Imaging） findings in patients with trigeminal neuralgia （TN）. Methods： A total of 32 idiopathic TN patients who completed acupuncture treatment protocol were recruited in this trial. The relationship between acupuncture effect and MRI findings were analyzed by using MRI-B-FFE （Balanced Fast Field Echo） technique to record MRI information, such as the distance from the brainstem to the contact point of offending vessels and trigeminal nerve, the contact angle of offending vessels and trigeminal nerve, and the ratio of the diameter of the contact vessel to trigeminal nerve width. Results： After acupuncture treatment, 9 cases got marked effect, 19 got improvement, and 4 got no effect. Acupuncture effect was neither associated with the distance from the brainstem to the contact point of the offending vessel and trigeminai nerve （P〉0.05） nor the ratio of the diameter of the offending vessel to trigeminal nerve width （P〉0.05）; however, it was indeed associated with the running course of the offending vessels （P〈0.05）. Conclusion： The bigger the angle between the offending vessels and trigeminal nerve, the poorer the acupuncture effect. The B-FFE technique can be used for screening acupuncture-indicated TN patients.

Objective: To observe the relationship between acupuncture and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) findings in patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Methods: A total of 32 idiopathic TN patients who completed acupuncture treatment protocol were recruited in this trial. The relationship between acupuncture effect and MRI findings were analyzed by using MRI-B-FFE (Balanced Fast Field Echo) technique to record MRI information, such as the distance from the brainstem to the contact point of offending vessels and trigeminal nerve, the contact angle of offending vessels and trigeminal nerve, and the ratio of the diameter of the contact vessel to trigeminal nerve width. Results: After acupuncture treatment, 9 cases got marked effect, 19 got improvement, and 4 got no effect. Acupuncture effect was neither associated with the distance from the brainstem to the contact point of the offending vessel and trigeminal nerve (P>0.05) nor the ratio of the diameter of the offending vessel to trigeminal nerve width (P>0.05); however, it was indeed associated with the running course of the offending vessels (P<0.05). Conclusion: The bigger the angle between the offending vessels and trigeminal nerve, the poorer the acupuncture effect. The B-FFE technique can be used for screening acupuncture-indicated TN patients.