RESEARCH ARTICLE

Trigeminal neuropathy is a relatively frequent clinical con-dition that poses major diagnostic problems to centres treating orofacial pain and headache [1,2]. Although most patients have unilateral trigeminal neuropathy secondary to focal lesions, a few present with a bilateral, symmet-ric, initially purely sensory trigeminal neuropathy, often related to connective tissue disease or seldom labelled as idiopathic [3,4]. This condition has received attention in sparse case re-ports, and in three main studies. In the first case series, Spillane and Wells in 1959, described 16 patients with a purely sensory, unilateral or bilateral, trigeminal neur-opathy [5]. Several years later, Lecky and colleagues re-ported 13 patients with idiopathic sensory disturbances restricted to the trigeminal territory, and referred to thi