VAGOGLOSSOPHARYNGEAL NEURALGIA: A RARE CASE OF SINCOPE RESPONDING TO PREGABALIN.

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GF) is a rare disease with a 1-year incidence of 0.7/100 000 (1). This condition is characterized by needling, intermittent and lancing pain in the distribution of ninth cranial nerve, induced by swallowing, chewing or touching. In 2% of cases, GF is associated with syncope or convulsive syncope, namely vagoglossopharyngeal neuralgia. Although GF is generally idiopathic, it has been reported with vascular malformation, compressive masses and demyelinating disease (2). As with trigeminal neuralgia, elective therapy consists of older anticonvulsants and, in particular, carbamazepine. Lamotrigine and gabapentin, however, have recently been shown to be efficacious in GF treatment (3, 4). In addition to these medications, pregabalin has been reported to be helpful in a case of typical GF (5). We report a case of GF with severe loss of consciousness, which has been successfully and rapidly treated with pregabalin.