The most painful brain disease you’ve never heard of

Your Complex Brain

Imagine not being able to brush your teeth, eat a sandwich or cuddle your children because of the intense pain. That’s the reality for many people living with trigeminal neuralgia, an unrelenting form of chronic facial pain. For many of these patients, a smile, a kiss, or even a gust of wind can unleash a throbbing so severe, some describe it as a ‘lightning bolt to the face.’
Because trigeminal neuralgia is so rare and so misunderstood, some physicians have never even heard of it. Luckily, many patients here in Canada and from around the world find their way to Dr Mojgan Hodaie, a Neurosurgeon and Senior Scientist with Krembil Brain Institute. Dr. Hodaie is an internationally renowned expert in trigeminal neuralgia.
In this episode, Dr. Hodaie talks about her quest to better understand where the pain originates from in trigeminal neuralgia, and where it travels within the brain, so that she can develop new and more personalized treatment options for patients. She also discusses her groundbreaking research and advanced imaging techniques that may also help those suffering with other types of chronic pain disorders.
Featuring:
Dr. Mojgan Hodaie is a Neurosurgeon and Senior Scientist with Krembil Brain Institute, as well as the Greg Wilkins-Barrick Chair in International Surgery at UHN, Surgical co-Director of the Joey & Toby Tanenbaum Family Gamma Knife Centre, and the Education Lead at Krembil Brain Institute, traveling the world to teach and mentor the next generation of neurosurgeons. Dr. Hodaie is also a Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto.
Dr. Hodaie’s clinical treatment is focused primarily on the management of facial pain. Her research team has a particular interest in advanced MR technology approaches for the study of facial neuropathic pain.
Special thanks to Josh Johnston and Asma Naheed for sharing their stories.
Additional Resources:
Dr. Mojgan Hodaie’s Lab at Krembil Brain Institute
UHN’s Comprehensive Integrated Pain Program
KBI Magazine story featuring Josh Johnston “I genuinely believed I was about to die”
Trigeminal Neuralgia Association of Canada
The Facial Pain Association
CBC Story – “Toronto Neurosurgeon Ma

The Your Complex Brain production team is Heather Sherman, Jessica Schmidt, Dr. Amy Ma, Kim Perry, Alley Wilson, Sara Yuan, Meagan Anderi, Liz Chapman, and Lorna Gilfedder.
The Krembil Brain Institute, part of University Health Network, in Toronto, is home to one of the world's largest and most comprehensive teams of physicians and scientists uniquely working hand-in-hand to prevent and confront problems of the brain and spine, such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, epilepsy, stroke, spinal cord injury, chronic pain, brain cancer or concussion, in their lifetime. Through state-of-the-art patient care and advanced research, we are working relentlessly toward finding new treatments and cures.
Do you want to know more about the Krembil Brain Institute at UHN? Visit us at: uhn.ca/krembil
To get in touch, email us at [e-mail] or message us on social media:
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Thanks for listening!