Trigeminal Neuralgia : Epidemiology, Sex Differences, and Pharmacogenetics st

Session Title: Trigeminal Neuralgia : Epidemiology, Sex Differences, and Pharmacogenetics

Topic: CLINICAL SCIENCE

Description: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is among the most severe facial pain conditions, with marked heterogeneity in presentation, treatment response, and long-term outcomes. This workshop brings together international experts to explore TN from three complementary perspectives: large-scale epidemiology, sex differences in outcomes, and pharmacogenetics in drug treatment.
Prof. Joanna Zakrzewska will present UK epidemiological data from over 50,000 TN patients, including comparisons with other facial pain disorders and insights from machine learning analyses. She will highlight the long-term impact of antiepileptic drug use, the role of comorbidities, and advances in outcome measurement.
Dr. Teekayu Jorns will address pharmacogenetic considerations in TN management, focusing on adverse effects and hypersensitivity in Asian populations and the role of lacosamide as an alternative. He will review emerging treatments, including vixotrigine and basimglurant, and their potential integration into TN care.
Dr Jacob Worm will discuss emerging evidence on sex differences in TN, covering epidemiology, clinical presentation, neuroimaging, and comorbidities. Drawing on a five-year prospective cohort comparing medical and surgical outcomes, he will show how sex influences treatment trajectories and pain-free survival, and the implications for patient selection, counseling, and future trial design.
By combining big-data epidemiology, individualized patient characteristics, and pharmacogenetic insights, this workshop will provide practical tools to optimize TN management across diverse populations and stimulate discussion on future research priorities.

Speakers

Jacob Worm Copenhagen University Hospital – Rigshospitalet
Denmark

Jacob Worm, MD, PhD, is a researcher at the Trigeminal Neuralgia Research Unit, Danish Headache Center, Copenhagen University Hospital – Rigshospitalet. His research focuses on the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and treatment outcomes of trigeminal neuralgia, including its long-term course and surgical management. He has served as Danish principal investigator for an international clinical trial and contributes to clinical research aimed at improving treatment and patient outcomes in trigeminal neuralgia. Dr. Worm is actively involved in international pain and headache congresses and regularly lectures and teaches on trigeminal neuralgia and facial pain.

Joanna Zakrzewska UCLH NHS Trust/ UCL
United Kingdom

Professor Joanna Zakrzewska is an oral physician who is both dentally and medically trained (London and Cambridge). She is a consultant at UCLH/UCL, London in the largest award winning facial pain service in the UK which she set up. She is President and Trustee of the Trigeminal Neuralgia Institute, a registered charity, which aims to ensure patients with trigeminal neuralgia have access to evidence based management. Currently key opinion leader on drug trials in trigeminal neuralgia, principal investigator on phase 2 studies and on the epidemiology of trigeminal neuralgia in the UK . She is an hon advisor to the British Association for the Study of Headaches.
She has written six books. The latest on Trigeminal Neuralgia and other Cranial Neuralgia includes contributions from over 30 world experts including patients which includes case scenarios, lay summaries and continuing professional development questions and answers. She has contributed to 28 chapters, written over 200 peer reviewed papers and has been rated as the top expert in trigeminal neuralgia in the world. She has given over 100 invited talks in 30 countries.

Teekayu Jorns Khon Kaen University
Thailand

Dr. Teekayu P. Jorns is a Director of the Residency Training Program in Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine at Khon Kaen University (KKU), Thailand. He earned his DDS from Khon Kaen University, an MSc in Oral Biology from the University of Queensland, Australia, and a PhD in Orofacial Pain from the University of London, UK.

Since founding the Orofacial Pain and Dental Sleep Medicine Clinic at KKU in 2007, Dr. Jorns has led it to become one of Thailand’s largest multidisciplinary centres for TMD/orofacial pain management. He is a former President of the Thai Society of Oral Diagnostic Science and currently serves on the academic committee of the Thai Association for the Study of Pain (TASP). In this role, he contributed to the publication of the second edition of the National Thai Guidelines for Neuropathic Pain Management.

Dr. Jorns has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and currently serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain (JOMP) and Oral Sciences Reports.

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