Abstract
Vertigo is one of the most common complaints in medicine. Despite its high prevalence, patients with vertigo often receive either inappropriate or inadequate treatment. The most important reasons for this deplorable situation are insufficient interdisciplinary cooperation, nonexistent standards in diagnostics and therapy, the relatively rare translations of basic science findings to clinical applications, and the scarcity of prospective controlled multicenter clinical trials. To overcome these problems, the German Center for Vertigo and Balance Disorders (DSGZ) started an initiative to establish a European Network for Vertigo and Balance Research called DIZZYNET. The central aim is to create a platform for collaboration and exchange among scientists, physicians, technicians, and physiotherapists in the fields of basic and translational research, clinical management, clinical trials, rehabilitation, and epidemiology. The network will also promote public awareness and help establish educational standards in the field. The DIZZYNET has the following objectives as regards structure and content: to focus on multidisciplinary translational research in vertigo and balance disorders,to develop interdisciplinary longitudinal and transversal networks for patient care by standardizing and personalizing the management of patients,to increase methodological competence by implementing common standards of practice and quality management,to internationalize the infrastructure for prospective multicenter clinical trials,to increase recruitment capacity for clinical trials,to create a common data base for patients with vertigo and balance disorders,to offer and promote attractive educational and career paths in a network of cooperating institutions.In the long term, the DIZZYNET should serve as an internationally visible network for interdisciplinary and multiprofessional research on vertigo and balance disorders. It ideally should equally attract the afflicted patients and those managing their disorders. DIZZYNET will not compete with the traditional national or international societies active in the field, but will function as an additional structure that addresses some of the above problems.
Highlights
Over the last decades the field of vertigo and balance research has undergone fundamental changes
In an intermediate project evaluation of the DSGZ in 2013 a board of international experts strongly recommended intensifying international networking, and the BMBF financially supported the realization of the idea of a European DIZZYNET
It is evident that these problems are present in individual research and treatment institutions all over Europe and elsewhere. They can only be overcome by the concerted action of a network of institutions that integrate all professions working in the field of vertigo and balance research
Summary
Over the last decades the field of vertigo and balance research has undergone fundamental changes. The concept of higher vestibular functions has set new foci for the impact of the vestibular system on cognition, spatial orientation and memory, navigation and hemispheric lateralization In contrast to other medical research fields (cardiology, oncology, immunology, vascular neurology), the field of vertigo and balance has an almost nonexistent culture of prospective multicenter studies. It is difficult to expand patient recruitment so as to satisfy a multicenter network because the technical equipment and study expertise for high-quality data collection are only available at a few centers. This situation is further complicated by differences in the terminology of disorders, diagnostic criteria, technical tests, and treatment concepts. Thirty international experts from 13 countries participated in the founding meeting, which took place in Sonnenhausen in 2014 with the support of the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
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