Abstract
This article describes the case of a 67-year-old woman who presented with a typical left hemifacial spasm of 8-month duration. After 2 months, she experienced lacinating and sharp shock-like pain in the left side of her face affecting the V1 and V2 territories and a discrete attenuation of nauseous reflex on the left side. CT angiography and MRI revealed significant compression of left cranial nerves V, VII, VIII, IX and X by a giant and tortuous vertebro-basilar arterial complex. This case illustrates the nonlinearity of the relationship between the presence of the stressor factor and the actual manifestation of the disease.
MeSH terms
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Aged
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Basilar Artery / abnormalities
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Basilar Artery / diagnostic imaging
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Basilar Artery / pathology
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Central Nervous System Vascular Malformations / complications*
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Central Nervous System Vascular Malformations / pathology*
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Central Nervous System Vascular Malformations / physiopathology
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Cranial Nerve Diseases / etiology
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Cranial Nerve Diseases / pathology
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Cranial Nerve Diseases / physiopathology
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Cranial Nerves / pathology
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Cranial Nerves / physiopathology
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Female
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Hemifacial Spasm / etiology*
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Hemifacial Spasm / pathology*
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Hemifacial Spasm / physiopathology
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Humans
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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Tomography, X-Ray Computed
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Trigeminal Nerve / pathology
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Trigeminal Nerve / physiopathology
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Trigeminal Neuralgia / etiology*
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Trigeminal Neuralgia / pathology*
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Trigeminal Neuralgia / physiopathology
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Vertebral Artery / abnormalities
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Vertebral Artery / diagnostic imaging
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Vertebral Artery / pathology
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Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency / complications
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Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency / pathology
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Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency / physiopathology