Rare Disease Day is an observance held on the last day of February to raise awareness for rare diseases and improve access to treatment and medical representation for individuals with rare diseases and their families. The date is chosen because in leap years it is February 29, the rarest date. The day raises awareness and generates change for the 300 million people worldwide living with a rare disease, their families, and caregivers.
At Reno CyberKnife, we treat benign and malignant tumors using a form of radiation therapy called stereotactic radiosurgery. Stereotactic radiosurgery can also treat additional medical conditions, including a rare nerve disorder called trigeminal neuralgia (TN).
Excruciating facial pain triggered by everyday activities such as chewing, talking or swallowing characterizes the debilitating condition. TN can often be mistaken for a dental problem, since the disorder usually causes sharp pain in the jaw. Diagnosis sometimes takes several years, as patients may undergo root canals or tooth extractions in an attempt to relieve their pain.
TN can occur when a blood vessel compresses the fifth cranial nerve, one of the largest nerves in the head. Many times, no cause can be found. As the pain intensifies, patients find themselves unable to predict what may trigger the next episode. Treatment typically involves powerful painkilling drugs or other antidepressant or anticonvulsive medication.
Trigeminal neuralgia is considered a rare neurological condition, affecting only a small percentage of the population, with estimates suggesting that around 10,000 to 15,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States; meaning only about 12 people per 100,000 are diagnosed with it annually.
Using CyberKnife® technology, Reno CyberKnife performs stereotactic radiosurgery, a nonsurgical method of treating certain types of tumors and conditions like TN with high-dose radiation beams delivered in five or fewer treatments. To treat a patient with TN, CyberKnife delivers very precise radiation beams to a targeted segment of the trigeminal nerve to interrupt pain-causing fibers. The pinpoint accuracy of the procedure spares healthy tissue and allows the physicians to treat difficult-to-reach targets without surgery or sedation.
TN treatment is typically a one-time, outpatient procedure and is completed within an hour. TN does not have a cure, but pain can be reduced or eliminated in about 85 to 90 percent of patients who are treated with stereotactic radiosurgery. For more information on Trigeminal Neuralgia, or to make an appointment with Reno CyberKnife, please contact our center today.