Excellent response to acupuncture treatment in a case of intractable glossopharyngeal neuralgia due to vascular tortuosity: a case report

摘要

Objective:Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is a relatively rare neurological condition arising from abnormal irritation of the ninth cranial nerve.The first line of conventional treatment is pharmaceutical followed by surgical interventions in non-responsive cases.However,the efficacy and safety of usual therapeutic methods have limited the compliance of most affected patients.Methods:Here for the first time,we report an excellent response of a chronic case of glossopharyngeal neuralgia to traditional Chinese medicine,which is a relatively safe and not expensive therapeutic method.Results:Despite limited response to conventional medicine,our patient showed a fast and promising response to the combination of acupuncture and moxibustion with low doses of carbamazepine.Conclusion:The therapeutic protocol used for the treatment of this patient needs to be validated by further double-blinded case control studies in order to be compared to other available therapeutic methods.