Non-Cochrane · aetiology · PM42220287
Reciprocal association between neurovascular conflict and trigeminal neuralgia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Golubevas Raimundas, Buškus Augustinas, Janužis Gintaras, et al. · Journal of oral & facial pain and headache · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.22514/jofph.2026.035
Findings
14 findings
| Population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trigeminal nerves of individuals without trigeminal neuralgia (non-TN) | Neurovascular contact (NVC) of the trigeminal nerve on MRI | None (single-group prevalence) | Prevalence of NVC (proportion of nerves) MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | Proportion (common-effect) 0.67 [0.62, 0.72] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 332 participants |
| Trigeminal nerves of individuals without trigeminal neuralgia (non-TN) | Neurovascular contact (NVC) of the trigeminal nerve on MRI | None (single-group prevalence) | Prevalence of NVC (proportion of nerves) MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | Proportion (random-effects) 0.667 [0.589, 0.738] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 332 participants |
| Symptomatic trigeminal nerves of patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) | Neurovascular contact (NVC) of the trigeminal nerve on MRI | None (single-group prevalence) | Prevalence of NVC (proportion of nerves) MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | Proportion (common-effect) 0.88 [0.84, 0.91] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 357 participants |
| Symptomatic trigeminal nerves of patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) | Neurovascular contact (NVC) of the trigeminal nerve on MRI | None (single-group prevalence) | Prevalence of NVC (proportion of nerves) MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | Proportion (random-effects) 0.875 [0.813, 0.918] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 357 participants |
| All trigeminal nerves examined (TN and non-TN groups combined) | Neurovascular contact (NVC) of the trigeminal nerve on MRI | None (single-group prevalence) | Prevalence of NVC (proportion of nerves) MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | Proportion (common-effect) 0.76 [0.72, 0.79] GRADE not reported 7 studies · 689 participants |
| All trigeminal nerves examined (TN and non-TN groups combined) | Neurovascular contact (NVC) of the trigeminal nerve on MRI | None (single-group prevalence) | Prevalence of NVC (proportion of nerves) MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | Proportion (random-effects) 0.79 [0.69, 0.87] GRADE not reported 7 studies · 689 participants |
| Patients with trigeminal neuralgia (both nerves of the same individuals) | NVC on the symptomatic nerve | NVC on the asymptomatic nerve | Presence of NVC MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | OR 3.49 [1.97, 6.20] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 609 participants |
| Patients with trigeminal neuralgia (both nerves of the same individuals) | NVC on the symptomatic nerve | NVC on the asymptomatic nerve | Presence of NVC MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | OR (common-effect) 3.34 [2.11, 5.27] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 609 participants |
| Asymptomatic trigeminal nerves (non-TN individuals and asymptomatic side of TN patients) | Neurovascular contact (NVC) of the trigeminal nerve on MRI | None (single-group prevalence) | Prevalence of NVC (proportion of nerves) MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | Proportion (random-effects) 0.740 [0.700, 0.770] GRADE not reported 4 studies · 500 participants |
| Individuals without trigeminal neuralgia with NVC detected | Severe NVC | Non-severe (simple) NVC | Severe versus non-severe NVC MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | OR (random-effects) 0.02 [0.01, 0.10] GRADE not reported 3 studies · 446 participants |
| Patients with trigeminal neuralgia | Arterial versus venous NVC on the symptomatic side | Arterial versus venous NVC on the asymptomatic side | Arterial NVC MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | OR (random-effects) 2.22 [0.04, 136.57] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 262 participants |
| Patients with trigeminal neuralgia | Arterial versus venous NVC on the symptomatic side | Arterial versus venous NVC on the asymptomatic side | Arterial NVC MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | OR (common-effect) 2.18 [1.21, 3.94] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 262 participants |
| Patients with trigeminal neuralgia | NVC located at the root entry zone (REZ) versus elsewhere on the symptomatic nerve | NVC located at the REZ versus elsewhere on the asymptomatic nerve | NVC at the root entry zone MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | OR (random-effects) 0.74 [0.41, 1.32] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 404 participants |
| Patients with trigeminal neuralgia | NVC located at the root entry zone (REZ) versus elsewhere on the symptomatic nerve | NVC located at the REZ versus elsewhere on the asymptomatic nerve | NVC at the root entry zone MRI (1.5 T or 3 T) of the trigeminal nerve | OR (common-effect) 0.73 [0.41, 1.30] GRADE not reported 2 studies · 404 participants |
Included primary studies 12
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Docampo 2015 Neurovascular study of the trigeminal nerve at 3 t MRI. PMID:25924169 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Docampo J 2015 Neurovascular Study of the Trigeminal Nerve at 3T MRI DOI:10.15274/nrj-2014-10116 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Jani 2019 Trigeminal Nerve Compression Without Trigeminal Neuralgia: Intraoperative vs Imaging Evidence. PMID:29425330 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Jani RH 2019 Trigeminal Nerve Compression Without Trigeminal Neuralgia: Intraoperative vs Imaging Evidence DOI:10.1093/neuros/nyx636 | 2018 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Kumar A 2025 Frequency of trigeminal neurovascular contacts identified on 3D-fast imaging employing steady-state acquisition magnetic resonance imaging… PMID:39926468 | 2025 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Li H 2024 A combined radiomics and anatomical features model enhances MRI-based recognition of symptomatic nerves in primary trigeminal neuralgia. PMID:39513045 | 2024 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Maarbjerg 2015 Significance of neurovascular contact in classical trigeminal neuralgia. PMID:25541189 | 2015 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Maarbjerg S 2015 Significance of neurovascular contact in classical trigeminal neuralgia DOI:10.1093/brain/awu349 | 2014 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Maurya 2019 Trigeminal neuralgia: When does neurovascular contact turn into a conflict? PMID:31065180 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Maurya V 2019 Trigeminal neuralgia: When does neurovascular contact turn into a conflict? DOI:10.1016/j.mjafi.2017.11.007 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ruiz-Juretschke 2019 Neurovascular Relations of the Trigeminal Nerve in Asymptomatic Individuals Studied with High-Resolution Three-Dimensional Magnetic… PMID:29659161 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Ruiz-Juretschke F 2019 Neurovascular Relations of the Trigeminal Nerve in Asymptomatic Individuals Studied with High‐Resolution Three‐Dimensional Magnetic… DOI:10.1002/ar.23818 | 2018 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Patients with diagnosed trigeminal neuralgia and individuals without TN or facial pain, evaluated by MRI | 699 patients; 1092 trigeminal nerves (357 symptomatic, 735 asymptomatic) (n=7 studies) |
| Intervention | Presence of neurovascular contact of the trigeminal nerve on MRI | NVC on MRI (3 T in 5 studies, 1.5 T in 2 studies) |
| Comparison | Patients with NVC on MRI without symptoms of TN or facial pain; asymptomatic nerves of TN patients | Non-TN individuals (n=342); asymptomatic nerves of TN patients (n=303) |
| Outcomes | Trigeminal neuralgia expression; presence, severity, vessel type and location of NVC | NVC prevalence by TN status; OR symptomatic vs asymptomatic nerves; severe vs non-severe NVC; arterial vs venous; REZ location |
| Study designs | In vivo MRI studies in English, 2015-2025 (case-control, cross-sectional) | Case-control (2), cross-sectional/observational (5) studies |
| Timing | Not specified | Not specified |