Abstract

The term dolichoectasia implies abnormal dilatation and elongation of an artery or vein. In the brain, this condition most commonly affects the vertebrobasilar system. The exact etiologic mechanism of the disease is unknown. However, many theories are suggested such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, and congenital factors (Marfan's disease, Ehlers Danlos disease, autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, Fabry disease and sickle cell anemia).

The disease is asymptomatic in most of the cases and thus detected incidentally. However, in minority of patients the disease might be symptomatic and the clinical manifestations include, but not limited to, stroke, brainstem compression, cranial neuropathies (motor and sensory), and hydrocephalus.

Trigeminal atrophy or hypoplasia is a very uncommon condition, usually described in association with Goldenhar-Gorlin syndrome (a complex congenital anomaly) and has not yet been attributed to vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia.

The current case report highlights this rare association of trigeminal nerve atrophy and vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia, leading to hemifacial and corneal anesthesia.

Keywords: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Trigeminal Atrophy; Vertebrobasilar Dolichoectasia

References

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Citation

Citation: Bilal F Shanti., et al. “Trigeminal Nerve Atrophy due to Vertebrobasilar Dolichoectasia: A Rare Entity". Acta Scientific Neurology 3.10 (2020): 09-12.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Bilal F Shanti., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.