Painful tic convulsif syndrome due to vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia

Abstract

Combined clinical presentation of hemifacial spasm and ipsilateral trigeminal neuralgia is also known as painful tic convulsif (PTC). It is a rare condition and the most common cause is vascular compression. Vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia (VBD) is characterized by dilated and tortuous vertebral and basilar arteries. VBD is an uncommon and rarely reported cause of PTC. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), due to its inherent excellent contrast resolution, is an excellent modality for demonstrating the nerve compression by dilated and tortuous vessels seen in this condition. For this purpose, 3D MRI sequences are especially useful like constructive interference in steady state (CISS) and MR angiography. Both of these have been reported to be helpful in the diagnosis of this condition. We report a case of PTC in which we were able to document facial and trigeminal nerve compression by VBD on MRI, using CISS and time-of-flight MR angiography.