E Science News -- Stereotactic radiation is an effective, long-term treatment for trigeminal neuralgia: a painful condition that occurs with increased frequency in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Radiation is noninvasive and has less negative side effects than other treatments, according to the longest follow-up in a study of its kind presented October 31, 2010, at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurological disease affecting about 300,000 Americans where the body’s immune system attacks its own nerve cells, affecting the ability of the brain to communicate with the spinal cord. Trigeminal neuralgia is an intensely painful condition caused by dysfunction of the trigeminal nerve, which is one of the nerves that innervates the face. People living with MS see a significantly increased incidence of this problem.
