{"id":639323,"date":"2026-04-30T20:43:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T20:43:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/639323\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T20:43:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T20:43:07","slug":"gamma-knife-trial-explores-earlier-treatment-for-trigeminal-neuralgia-in-alberta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/639323\/","title":{"rendered":"Gamma Knife trial explores earlier treatment for trigeminal neuralgia in Alberta"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

About 700 new cases<\/a> of trigeminal neuralgia <\/a>(TN), also known as tic douloureux, are diagnosed in Alberta each year. The condition is characterized by sudden, shock-like facial pain along the trigeminal nerve, often triggered by everyday activities such as eating, brushing teeth, or even exposure to cold wind.<\/p>\n

While TN is typically treated with<\/a> anti-seizure medications, these drugs can come with significant side effects, including blurry vision, imbalance, and allergic reactions. For about half of patients, the medications eventually stop working.<\/p>\n

TN has historically been referred to as the \u201csuicide disease<\/a>\u201d due to the severity of pain experienced by patients.<\/p>\n

Tejas Sankar<\/a>, associate professor of surgery and neurosurgery research director at the University of Alberta, described the condition based on clinical experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt used to be called the suicide disease because a certain proportion of patients would be unable to tolerate the pain,\u201d Sankar said. \u201cThankfully, that is a much lower proportion now because we do have effective treatments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patients typically experience intense, one-sided facial pain described as electric shock-like, stabbing, and sometimes tearing. These episodes can last seconds to minutes and recur unpredictably.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes it even worse is that very simple activities such as brushing teeth, chewing, touching the face, or even cold wind can trigger the pain,\u201d Sankar said. \u201cPatients tend to live in fear of the next attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

An incomplete understanding of causes <\/p>\n

The exact cause of TN remains unclear. In many cases, a blood vessel compresses the trigeminal nerve near the brainstem, a condition known as classical trigeminal neuralgia. However, this does not explain all cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people have that same compression and never develop the disease,\u201d Sankar explained.<\/p>\n

Other cases may be linked to conditions such as multiple sclerosis or brain tumours, while some patients show no clear structural abnormalities.<\/p>\n

Advanced imaging studies<\/a> suggest TN is not only a nerve disorder but may also involve changes in the brain. Researchers have observed alterations in pain-processing pathways, including possible degeneration and accelerated aging in certain regions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have an incomplete understanding of why people get the disease,\u201d Sankar said.<\/p>\n

Current treatment pathways typically begin with medication, with surgery considered only after drugs become ineffective or intolerable.<\/p>\n

However, Sankar and his team are questioning this approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve learned that if you wait longer after diagnosis before intervening surgically, patients tend to do more poorly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Over time, many patients require increasingly high medication doses, leading to side effects such as cognitive impairment, balance issues, and vision problems. Even when surgery is eventually performed, outcomes may be less durable.<\/p>\n

Testing early Gamma Knife intervention <\/p>\n

Sankar is leading a clinical trial<\/a> investigating whether earlier use of Gamma Knife<\/a> radiosurgery could improve long-term outcomes.<\/p>\n

Gamma Knife is a non-invasive procedure that delivers highly focused radiation to the trigeminal nerve to disrupt pain signals. Unlike traditional surgery, it does not require incisions.<\/p>\n

The trial will recruit 80 patients across Alberta. Half will receive standard medication, while the other half will undergo \u201cultra-early\u201d Gamma Knife treatment shortly after diagnosis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think that if you intervene early, you may be able to change the natural history of the disease,\u201d Sankar said. \u201cYou might even achieve long-term remission.\u201d<\/p>\n

The procedure targets specific fibres within the trigeminal nerve, particularly those responsible for transmitting pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is to damage the pain-carrying fibres without affecting other functions like touch or chewing,\u201d Sankar explained.<\/p>\n

Because the treatment is highly precise, most patients do not experience significant numbness or motor dysfunction. However, it can take eight to 12 weeks for the full effects to develop.<\/p>\n

Improving access and awareness in Alberta <\/p>\n

Beyond pain relief, early intervention may help prevent long-term changes in the brain associated with chronic pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know from imaging studies that the longer someone has this condition, the more lasting changes occur in the brain,\u201d Sankar said.<\/p>\n

By treating patients earlier, researchers hope to prevent these changes from becoming permanent.<\/p>\n

The trial also aims to address gaps in awareness and access to care. TN is often misdiagnosed initially as a dental issue, leading to delays in treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany patients have to wait a long time to get the correct diagnosis,\u201d Sankar said.<\/p>\n

The study is being conducted in Edmonton, home to the only Gamma Knife unit west of Winnipeg, which makes the trial uniquely feasible in Alberta.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re fortunate to have the infrastructure and experience to do this work here,\u201d Sankar noted.<\/p>\n

Looking toward a new standard of care <\/p>\n

If successful, the trial could lead to a major shift in how trigeminal neuralgia is treated.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hypothesis is that an ultra-early Gamma Knife will result in better long-term outcomes,\u201d Sankar said. \u201cIf that\u2019s proven, it could change the way we approach this disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such a shift could mean that future patients no longer have to endure years of debilitating pain and medication side effects before accessing definitive treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be a great day for the care of people with this condition,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"About 700 new cases of trigeminal neuralgia (TN), also known as tic douloureux, are diagnosed in Alberta each…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[49,48,23752,212189,238667,238668,238669,84,238670,238671,203250,86612,203251,203252,81244],"class_list":["post-639323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-edmonton","tag-gamma-knife","tag-gamma-knife-intervention","tag-gamma-knife-radiosurgery","tag-gamma-knife-trial","tag-health","tag-kshef-kamran","tag-tejas-sanka","tag-the-gateway","tag-trigeminal-neuralgia","tag-u-of-a","tag-ualberta","tag-university-of-alberta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}