9%) patients. Figure 1 Distribution of patients according to else the ages in percentages (N1=290, N2=105). Figure 2 shows distribution of patients according to the trigeminal branch affected. The association of the maxillary and the mandibular branch (V2+V3) was the most frequent (28.0%), followed by the association of the ophthalmic and the maxillary branch (V1+V2) (19.9%) and only V3 (18.9%). Figure 2 Distribution of patients according to the trigeminal branch affected in percentages (N1=290, N2=105). Systemic diseases were observed in 235 (81.0%) patients (Table 1), and among them, heart diseases were the most common (71.8%). The prevalence of hypertension was higher in the sample from 1984 when compared to the other one (P<.05). The type of hypertension was not collected.

Table 1 Trigeminal neuralgia : relevant clinical findings (N1=290, N2=105). Trigger zones were observed in 212 (73.1%) patients. Corneal reflex asymmetry was present in 6.8% of patients, and facial hypoesthesia in 29.6%. From these cases, 4.7% of the patients with facial hypoesthesia and 12.8% of patients with corneal reflex asymmetry had no previous history of surgery at the face or for TN. On the other hand, 3.4% of patients had facial nerve deficit and 2.2% trigeminal motor abnormalities, and all of these patients had had previous surgical treatment for TN. Other neurological findings were Parkinson��s disease in 3 patients, essential tremor in 3, previous vascular cerebral accident in 2, concomitant glossopharyngeal neuralgia TN in 2, vertebral-basilar malformation in 1 and previous parietal meningoma in 1.

Facial spasm was observed in 8 (2.8%) patients. It was ipsilateral in 4 (50.0%) of them, and more frequent in patients with bilateral neuralgia (11.8% of cases) when compared to unilateral neuralgia (2.2% of cases) (P<.05). Only three patients had initial failure with the balloon compression, and they were re-operated. They had no comorbidity associated and the trigeminal branches affected were V3 in 2 patients and V2-3 in one. All of them had the right side affected. Second study �C 200411 From 105 TN patients, 60 (57.1%) were female and 45 (42.9%) were male, which was statistically significant (P<.05); 79 (75.2%) patients were white, 23 (21.9%) black and 3 (2.9%) yellow. Three (2.9%) patients had family history of TN. Ages ranged from 35 to 85 years old, with a mean of 60.

8 years old (Figure 1). There was a higher prevalence of the 7th decade Drug_discovery of life. There was no difference between the mean of ages of female and male patients. Ages at the pain onset ranged from 24 to 78 years old. Mean duration of pain was 114.0 months. TN was more often at the right side (73 patients �C 69.5%) (P<.05). It was bilateral in 1 (1.0%) patient. Figure 2 shows the distribution of patients according to the trigeminal branch affected. The mandibular (V3) (29.5%) and the maxillary (V2) (29.5%) branches isolated were the most affected, followed by the association between both (20.