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Kuan-Po Peng,1 Rafael Benoliel,2 Arne May1 1Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; 2Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USACorrespondence: Arne May, Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, D-20246, Hamburg, Germany, Tel +49-40-7410-59189, Fax +49-40-7410-59955, Email a.may@uke.deAbstract: Orofacial pain (OFP) has recently been classified and subdivided into a number of groups, similar to headache disorders in the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD). A novel group of OFP has been established whose major feature is that they resemble primary headache disorders occurring in the V2 or V3 dermatomes. These follow the clinical criteria and associated symptoms of the eponymous headache syndromes. Following the recent International Classification of Orofacial Pain (ICOP), three types are differentiated: Headache which spread into the face (type 1), facial pain which replaced headache but maintained the same characteristics and associated symptoms of the former headache (type 2), and de-novo orofacial pain that resembles primary headache types without any involvement of the ophthalmic trigeminal branch (type 3). The epidemiology is unclear: type 1 and 2 are not exactly common, they certainly exist in a notable proportion of headache patients, whereas type 3 may be rather rare. Since effective treatment options are available, it is important for clinicians to recognize such syndromes early to avoid misdiagnosis and unnecessary treatment, which most of these patients still experience. This review gives an up-to-date summary of diagnosis, pathophysiology and treatment of attack-like non-dental facial pain disorders.Keywords: facial pain, classification, migraine, cluster headache, treatment

Aims: To assess whether pain-related awakenings occur with persistent orofacial pain conditions and whether it is related to pain severity. Methods: Reports of pain-related awakening were prospectively collected at initial interview, prior to treatment, during a 24-month period from 328 patients with orofacial pain. The pain conditions were diagnosed according to the International Headache Society, the American Academy of Orofacial Pain,and the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders. Results: Pain-related awakening was significantly correlated to pain intensity (odds ratio [OR] 1.5, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.3-1.8; P < .001), the total muscle tenderness score (OR 1.1, 95% CI 1.01-1.14; P = .03), and the presence of lacrimation (OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.7-12.3; P = .002) but not to the clinical diagnosis. Two groups of patients were specifically examined; patients with masticatory myofascial pain (MMP) and patients with classical trigeminal neuralgia (CTN). Twenty-eight of the 120 MMP patients (23.3%) reported pain-related awakening and this was associated with a high muscle tenderness score (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.01-1.3; P = .02) and unilaterality of pain (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.2-12.3; P = .02). Seven of the 31 patients with CTN (22.6%) reported pain-related awakenings. Continuous background pain was the most significant parameter associated with awakening (OR 26, 95% CI 1.1-594; P < .05). Conclusion: Persistent orofacial pain often induced pain-related awakening and this was significantly associated with pain intensity. J OROFAC PAIN 2009;23:330-338. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to document sensory changes in the supraorbital, infraorbital, and mental nerve distributions following acute and chronic maxillary and frontal sinusitis. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Seven patients with a total of 14 infected sinuses were included in the study. Neurosensory function was evaluated by measuring the electrical detection threshold for large myelinated nerve fibers and heat detection thresholds for the assessment of the thin unmyelinated nerve fibers. The sensory tests were conducted in the infraorbital, supraorbital, and mental dermatomes. Patient evaluation included clinical examination and computerized tomographic imaging of the sinuses. Sinusitis symptoms of 1 month or less were considered acute, and symptoms that persisted for more than 3 months were considered chronic. Detection thresholds in 8 healthy volunteers served as controls. RESULTS: Eight acute and 6 chronic sinusitis cases were diagnosed. Acute sinusitis produced bilateral large myelinated fiber hypersensitivity (electrical) relative to healthy controls, with no significant change in the thin unmyelinated nerve fiber detection threshold (thermal). Chronic sinusitis resulted in large myelinated fiber hyposensitivity and thin myelinated fiber bilateral hyposensitivity, as compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: This study concurs with previous studies in finding that early inflammatory neuritis can produce large myelinated nerve fiber hypersensitivity, while long-lasting processes, presumably accompanied with early nerve damage, may result in hyposensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating sensory nerve damage is a challenging and often frustrating process. Diagnosis and follow-up is usually based on the patient's history and gross physical evaluation in addition to simple sensory tests such as brushing or pin prick. Based on evidence accumulated from clinical and animal experiments, quantitative sensory testing (QST) has emerged as a useful tool in the assessment of sensory nerve damage. QST has demonstrated diagnostic capabilities in temporomandibular disorders, burning mouth syndrome, oral malignancies, numb chin syndrome, posttraumatic pain, and whiplash injuries, and in elucidating mechanisms of central sensitization. In this article specific clinical uses of QST are described and its clinical applicability is demonstrated. Future studies should be directed at exploring the use of QST in the diagnosis and classification of further nerve pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unilateral throbbing headaches may present similar signs and symptoms as dental pathology and are a diagnostic challenge for dental practitioners. Cases may be seen with a primary complaint of unilateral pain or referred by medical colleagues for exclusion of dental causes. In the present article the authors add a new case of hemicrania continua (HC), which is one such unilateral headache, and review the previously published cases. HC is relatively easy to treat since it responds completely to treatment with indomethacin. However, as is presented in this case, HC may masquerade as dental pain. Cases secondary to trauma, systemic disease, and nervous system pathology have been described in the literature, and the clinician must exclude these possible causes. A thorough knowledge of this entity is therefore essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case of episodic, spontaneous odontalgia, aggravated by ingestion of cold food, with no apparent dental pathology is presented. Attempts at alleviating the pain by means of root canal treatment had failed in previous, similar episodes, and pain and pulpal hyperalgesia had shifted to other locations. Primary vascular orofacial pain was diagnosed and effective control obtained by prophylactic treatment with propranolol, a beta-adrenergic blocker. A prophylactic attempt with nifedipine, a calcium channel blocker, failed to alleviate the pain. This diagnostic entity and possible therapeutic approaches are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: We conducted a cohort study to examine demographic and clinical features associated with the pharmacotherapeutic outcome in classical trigeminal neuralgia (CTN) patients.Methods: Patients with a clinical profile indicating a diagnosis of CTN, as per the International Headache Society's published classification, were enrolled prospectively. Demographic and pain-related characteristics were carefully collected. For the purposes of the study, patients with features such as autonomic signs and longer attack duration were included. All patients were then initiated on a standardised and accepted stepped pharmacotherapeutic protocol for the management of CTN. Initial pain scores and prospectively collected pain scores from pain diaries were used to assess the treatment outcome, with a ≥50% reduction considered significant.Results: A total of 86 patients were seen, of whom five had an underlying disorder that could account for the pain. The study cohort therefore consisted of 81 patients, and based on attack duration these were divided into short (≤2 minutes, n = 61) and long (>2 minutes, n = 20) groups, for further analysis. The features of these patients and a discussion on the differential diagnosis have been presented in part 1 of this report. Employing an accepted stepped pharmacotherapeutic protocol for the management of CTN, significant improvement was more frequent in the short (74%) than in the long attack group (50%, p = 0.05). In the short attack group there were statistically significant associations between a poor treatment response and longer disease duration, the presence of autonomic signs and atypical pain descriptors for pain quality (p < 0.05).Conclusion: This report supports previous findings that prolonged disease duration and autonomic signs are negative prognostic indicators. The present study now adds long attack duration as a further negative prognostic sign. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: We performed a retrospective study of lingual nerve injury assessment comparing the techniques of current perception threshold testing versus clinical sensory testing. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We designed and implemented a cross-sectional study and enrolled a patient sample with lingual nerve injuries presenting for treatment to the principal investigator. The predictor variables were clinical sensory testing modalities (ie, temperature, nocioception, vibration, 2-point discrimination, brush stroke, and von Frey monofilament perception). The primary outcome variable was the electrical current perception thresholds of the tongue dorsum (neurometer measurements at 5, 250, and 2,000 Hz). Comparisons were established with the ipsilateral affected and contralateral unaffected lingual nerve distributions. The associations between the clinical sensory testing and current perception threshold measurements were assessed using correlation coefficients, with the level of statistical significance set at P < .05. RESULTS: A total of 40 patients (13 males and 27 females) were included in the present study. The average age of these patients was 34 years (range 13 to 66). Significant correlations were observed between the electrical stimulation thresholds at 2,000 Hz and the 2-point discrimination, reaction to brushing, reaction to vibration, and von Frey fiber thresholds, between the electrical stimulation thresholds at 250 Hz to the nociceptive and thermal thresholds, and between the electrical stimulation thresholds at 5 Hz to thermal stimuli. CONCLUSIONS: The significant correlations observed in the present study indicate that current perception threshold can be a complementary or alternative tool in the assessment and evaluation of lingual nerve injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic orofacial pain includes musculoskeletal, neuropathic, and vascular disorders. Unlike dental or other acute pains, chronic orofacial pain can in many cases stand alone as a separate pathological condition and is not a symptom accompanying other diseases. The article describes orofacial pain symptoms and mechanisms, and a relevant treatment approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]