Spontaneous Attacks Of Vertigo Research Articles

Diagnosis dan Penatalaksanaan Penyakit Meniere

ABSTRACT
 Background: Meniere's disease is the third leading cause of vertigo after Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo and vestibular neuritis. Meniere's disease is also known as endolymphatic hydrops. Acute symptoms of Meniere's disease are characterized by triad of vertigo, tinnitus and hearing loss. This disease is a challenge for ENT specialist in making a diagnosis and determining the right and optimal management. Objective: Provides knowledge about the diagnosis and management of Meniere's disease, so that it can be handled appropriately. Literature Review: Meniere's disease is an inner ear disorder characterized by spontaneous vertigo attacks, fluctuating low-tone sensorineural hearing loss, aural fullness and tinnitus. The most consistent finding and still being used as the basic mechanism of Meniere's disease to date is the discovery of endolymphatic hydrops. Diagnostic tests to diagnose Meniere's disease include audiometry, glycerol test, caloric test and electrocochleography. Meniere's disease can significantly affect quality of life and generally managed with dietary modifications such as a low-salt diet, medical therapy such as diuretics and surgery such as intratimpani injection and endolymphatic sac surgery. Conclusion: Meniere's disease is characterized by a triad of vertigo symptoms, low-tone sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. Making the diagnosis requires a detailed history with a complete audiology and vestibular examination. The management of Meniere's disease consists of dietary modifications, medical therapy and surgery.
 Keywords: meniere’s disease, endolymphatic hydrops, diuretics, intratimpani injection, endolymphatic sac surgery

Symptom: Vertigo After Labyrinthectomy

Symptom: Vertigo After Labyrinthectomy

Transmyringeal ventilation tube insertion for unilateral Menière’s disease: a protocol for a prospective, sham-controlled, double-blinded, randomized, clinical trial

BackgroundMenière’s disease is an idiopathic disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of vertigo lasting more than 20 min, unilateral sensorineural hearing loss, and tinnitus. If vertigo attacks occur frequently, the patient is usually severely incapacitated. Currently, there is no consensus on the treatment of Menière’s disease. The evidence regarding most treatment options is sparse due to a lack of randomized trials together with an often-spontaneous relief over time and a considerable placebo effect. Insertion of a transmyringeal tube is a simple and relatively safe, minimally invasive procedure and previous open-label trials have shown promising results.Study designThis is a prospective, sham-controlled, double-blinded, randomized, clinical trial.AimThis trial aims to assess the effects of inserting a ventilation tube into the tympanic membrane compared with sham treatment for definite or probable unilateral Menière’s disease according to the criteria formulated by the Classification Committee of the Bàràny Society.OutcomesThe primary outcome will be the number of spontaneous vertigo attacks lasting more than 20 min and time to treatment failure. In addition to the primary outcome, we will assess various secondary outcomes related to hearing, ear fullness, dizziness, and serious adverse events.Sample sizeAn estimated 104 participants in total or 52 participants in each group will be necessary.The primary analysis will be according to the intention-to-treat principle. The trial will be initiated in 2021 and is expected to end in 2025.Trial statusClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04835688. Registered on April 8, 2021.Protocol version: 1.8, 26-09-2022. Date of first enrollment: October 1st, 2021. End of study: anticipated January 2025.

A Predictive Model of Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss in Meniere Disease Using Clinical Data.

Meniere disease (MD) is defined by a clinical syndrome of recurrent attacks of spontaneous vertigo associated with tinnitus, aural fullness, and sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Most patients have unilateral SNHL, but some of them will develop contralateral SNHL during the course of the disease. Several studies have reported a frequency of 2 to 73% SNHL in the second ear, according to the duration of disease and the period of follow-up. We hypothesize that unilateral and bilateral MD are different conditions, the first would initially involve the apical turn of the cochlea, while bilateral MD would affect the entire length of the cochlea. The aim of the study is to search for clinical predictors of bilateral SNHL in MD to build a predictive model of bilateral involvement. A retrospective, longitudinal study including two cohorts with a total of 400 patients with definite MD was carried out. The inception cohort consisted of 150 patients with MD and the validation cohort included 250 cases. All of the cases were diagnosed of unilateral MD according to their hearing loss thresholds. The following variables were assessed as predictors of bilateral SNHL for the two cohorts: sex, age of onset, familiar history of MD, migraine and high-frequency hearing loss (HFHL, defined if hearing threshold >20 dB in two or more consecutive frequencies from 2 to 8 KHz). A descriptive analysis was carried out according to the presence of HFHL in the first audiogram for the main variables. By using multiple logistic regression, we built-up several predictive models for the inception cohort and validated it with the replication cohort and merged dataset. Twenty-three (19.3%) and 78 (41%) of patients with HFHL developed contralateral SNHL during the follow-up, in the inception and validation cohorts, respectively. In the inception cohort, the best predictive model included HFHL in the first audiogram (OR = 6.985, p = 0.063) and the absence of migraine (OR = 0.215, p = 0.144) as clinical predictors for bilateral SNHL [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.641, p = 0.002]. The model was validated in the second cohort (AUC = 0.621, p < 0.001). Finally, we merged both datasets to improve the precision of the model including HFHL in the first audiogram (OR = 3.168, p = 0.001), migraine (OR = 0.482, p = 0.036) and age of onset >35 years old (OR = 2.422, p = 0.006) as clinical predictors (AUC = 0.639, p < 0.001). A predictive model including the age of onset, HFHL in the first audiogram and migraine can help to assess the risk of bilateral SNHL in MD. This model may have significant implications for clinical management of patients with MD.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Ménière's Disease.

Ménière's disease (MD) is a clinical condition defined by spontaneous vertigo attacks (each lasting 20 minutes to 12 hours) with documented low- to midfrequency sensorineural hearing loss in the affected ear before, during, or after one of the episodes of vertigo. It also presents with fluctuating aural symptoms (hearing loss, tinnitus, or ear fullness) in the affected ear. The underlying etiology of MD is not completely clear, yet it has been associated with inner ear fluid (endolymph) volume increases, culminating in episodic ear symptoms (vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness). Physical examination findings are often unremarkable, and audiometric testing may or may not show low- to midfrequency sensorineural hearing loss. Conventional imaging, if performed, is also typically normal. The goals of MD treatment are to prevent or reduce vertigo severity and frequency; relieve or prevent hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness; and improve quality of life. Treatment approaches to MD are many and typically include modifications of lifestyle factors (eg, diet) and medical, surgical, or a combination of therapies. The primary purpose of this clinical practice guideline is to improve the quality of the diagnostic workup and treatment outcomes of MD. To achieve this purpose, the goals of this guideline are to use the best available published scientific and/or clinical evidence to enhance diagnostic accuracy and appropriate therapeutic interventions (medical and surgical) while reducing unindicated diagnostic testing and/or imaging.

Clinical Practice Guideline: Ménière's Disease Executive Summary.

Ménière's disease (MD) is a clinical condition defined by spontaneous vertigo attacks (each lasting 20 minutes to 12 hours) with documented low- to midfrequency sensorineural hearing loss in the affected ear before, during, or after one of the episodes of vertigo. It also presents with fluctuating aural symptoms (hearing loss, tinnitus, or ear fullness) in the affected ear. The underlying etiology of MD is not completely clear, yet it has been associated with inner ear fluid volume increases, culminating in episodic ear symptoms (vertigo, fluctuating hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness). Physical examination findings are often unremarkable, and audiometric testing may or may not show low- to midfrequency sensorineural hearing loss. Imaging, if performed, is also typically normal. The goals of MD treatment are to prevent or reduce vertigo severity and frequency; relieve or prevent hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness; and improve quality of life. Treatment approaches to MD are many, and approaches typically include modifications of lifestyle factors (eg, diet) and medical, surgical, or a combination of therapies. The primary purpose of this clinical practice guideline is to improve the quality of the diagnostic workup and treatment outcomes of MD. To achieve this purpose, the goals of this guideline are to use the best available published scientific and/or clinical evidence to enhance diagnostic accuracy and appropriate therapeutic interventions (medical and surgical) while reducing unindicated diagnostic testing and/or imaging.

Results and lessons learnt from a randomized controlled trial: prophylactic treatment of vestibular migraine with metoprolol (PROVEMIG)

BackgroundVestibular migraine (VM) is the most frequent cause of recurrent spontaneous attacks of vertigo causally related to migraine. The objective of the Prophylactic treatment of vestibular migraine with metoprolol (PROVEMIG) trial was to demonstrate that metoprolol succinate is superior to placebo in the prevention of episodic vertigo- and migraine-related symptoms in patients with VM.MethodsThis phase III, two-arm, parallel-group, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial was designed to be conducted at tertiary referral centres at neurology and ear, nose and throat departments of eight German university hospitals. The planned sample size was a total of 266 patients to be allocated. Adults aged 18 years or above diagnosed with probable or definitive VM according to the Neuhauser criteria 2001 were randomly assigned 1:1 to 6 months blinded metoprolol (maintenance dosage of 95 mg daily) or placebo. The primary efficacy outcome was the self-reported number of vertiginous attacks per 30 days documented by means of a paper-based daily symptom diary. The pre-specified time period of primary interest was defined as months 4 to 6. Secondary outcomes included the patient-reported number of migraine days and vertigo days, the Dizziness Handicap Inventory, and clinical assessments. Adverse events were reported throughout the whole 9-month study period.ResultsAt the time of trial termination, no evidence for a difference in the incidence of vertiginous attacks between groups was detected. For the full analysis set, the incidence rate ratio was 0.983 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.902–1.071) for metoprolol versus placebo. In both groups, there was a significant decline over time in the overall monthly vertigo attacks by a factor of 0.830 (95% CI 0.776–0.887). Results were consistent for all subjective and objective key measures of efficacy. The treatment was well tolerated with no unexpected safety findings.ConclusionsAfter randomizing 130 patients PROVEMIG had to be discontinued because of poor participant accrual not related to the tolerability of the study medication or safety concerns; no treatment benefit of metoprolol over placebo could be established. Additional preparatory work is much needed in the development, psychometric evaluation and interpretation of clinically meaningful end points in trials on episodic syndromes like VM taking into consideration the complexity of this disease entity comprising two domains (vertigo- and headache-related disability).Trial registrationEudraCT, 2009-013701-34. Prospectively registered on 8 April 2011.

Recurrent spontaneous vertigo with interictal headshaking nystagmus.

To define a disorder characterized by recurrent spontaneous vertigo (RSV) of unknown etiology and interictal headshaking nystagmus (HSN). We characterized HSN in 35 patients with RSV-HSN compared to that recorded in randomly selected patients with compensated vestibular neuritis (VN), vestibular migraine (VM), and Ménière disease (MD). The estimated time constant (TC) of the primary phase of HSN was 12 seconds (95% confidence interval [CI] 12-13) in patients with RSV-HSN, which was larger than those in patients with VN (5 seconds, 95% CI 4-5), VM (5 seconds, 95% CI 5-6), or MD (6 seconds, 95% CI 5-6). TCs of the horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex were also larger during the rotatory chair test in patients with RSV-HSN. Among the 35 patients with RSV-HSN, 7 showed vigorous long-lasting HSN with a peak slow-phase velocity >50.0°/s. In 5 patients (5 of 7, 71%) with vigorous HSN, HSN could have been induced even with headshaking for only 2 to 5 seconds. Long-term prognosis was favorable, with a resolution or improvement of the symptoms in more than half of the patients during the median follow-up of 12 (range 2-58) years from symptom onset. None developed VM, MD, or cerebellar dysfunction during the follow-up. The clinical features and characteristics of HSN in our patients indicate a hyperactive and asymmetric velocity-storage mechanism that gives rise to intermittent attacks of spontaneous vertigo probably when marginal compensation of underlying pathology is disrupted by endogenous or exogenous factors.

A novel missense variant in PRKCB segregates low-frequency hearing loss in an autosomal dominant family with Meniere's disease.

Meniere's Disease (MD) is a complex disorder associated with an accumulation of endolymph in the membranous labyrinth in the inner ear. It is characterized by recurrent attacks of spontaneous vertigo associated with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and tinnitus. The SNHL usually starts at low and medium frequencies with a variable progression to high frequencies. We identified a novel missense variant in the PRKCB gene in a Spanish family with MD segregating low-to-middle frequency SNHL. Confocal imaging showed strong PKCB II protein labelling in non-sensory cells, the tectal cells and inner border cells of the rat organ of Corti with a tonotopic expression gradient. The PKCB II signal was more pronounced in the apical turn of the cochlea when compared with the middle and basal turns. It was also much higher in cochlear tissue than in vestibular tissue. Taken together, our findings identify PRKCB gene as a novel candidate gene for familial MD and its expression gradient in supporting cells of the organ of Corti deserves attention, given the role of supporting cells in K+ recycling within the endolymph, and its apical turn location may explain the onset of hearing loss at low frequencies in MD.

UŻYTECZNOŚĆ MIOGENNYCH PRZEDSIONKOWYCH POTENCJAŁÓW WYWOŁANYCH W DIAGNOSTYCE CHOROBY MENIERE’A: PRZEGLĄD

Meniere’s disease is an inner ear disorder characterized by aural fullness, spontaneous attacks of vertigo, fluctuating low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. There are various tests such as puretone audiometry, electrocochleography, glycerol test, Caloric test, Cochlear hydrops analysis masking which have been utilised in diagnosing the Meniere’s disease. Recently cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and ocular vestibular myogenic potentials have been utilised to measure the functioning of the sacculocollic and otolith ocular pathway respectively. The objective of the present study is to provide an overview of the cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials tests findings in individuals with Meniere’s disease.

Different types of dizziness in patients with peripheral vestibular diseases – their prevalence and relation to migraine

Conclusions: Besides spontaneous attacks of vertigo or unsteadiness, other symptoms, i.e. drop attacks, lateropulsion, illusions that the room or body is tilted, ‘walking on pillows’ or ‘stepping into a hole’, occur without precipitating head movement in almost 50% of patients with peripheral vestibular dysfunctions. The sensation of static tilt was closely connected to migraine and Meniere's disease (MD). Objectives: To record the prevalence of the different symptoms with respect to vestibular diagnosis and its relation to migraine. Methods: Data from 100 patients with MD, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), or unilateral peripheral vestibular impairment (UPVI) were analyzed with respect to vestibular diagnosis and migraine as a secondary diagnosis. Results: Spontaneous attacks of vertigo or unsteadiness occurred in 74% and 48% of patients, respectively. Vertigo was significantly more often reported in patients with MD and BPPV. In patients with BPPV, the duration of spontaneous vertigo was shorter than in patients with MD. The relative incidence of other symptoms were: unsteadiness, 48%; ‘stepping into a hole’, 46%; lateropulsion, 35%; ‘walking on pillows’, 21%; and drop attacks, 19%. Only the sensation of static tilt, which occurred in 8% of patients, was significantly correlated to MD or to migraine.

Symptoms experienced by patients with peripheral vestibular disorders: evaluation of the Vertigo Symptom Scale for clinical application

To describe symptoms during an episode of dizziness in a sample of patients suffering from peripheral vestibular disorders and to compare them with the items in the Vertigo Symptom Scale. A descriptive study from a sample of patients with peripheral vestibular disorders. Patients visiting a department of audiology at a university hospital. Twenty patients with peripheral vestibular disorders. The inclusion criteria were that the patient had had at least three spontaneous attacks of vertigo and/or was constantly unsteady during the last 3 months for at least 75% of the time when awake. Patients were instructed to complete a diary where they recorded symptoms that arose during an episode of dizziness. These symptoms were compared with the content of the Vertigo Symptom Scale. The most frequent symptoms as mentioned by the patients in their diaries were a feeling that things are spinning or moving around, nausea, feeling unsteady/about to lose one's balance, fatigue, headache, a feeling as if the ground you walk on is distant and ear-related such as tinnitus and a feeling of pressure in the ear. Pain in the heart or chest region, a heavy feeling in the arms or legs, pain in the lower part of the back and excessive sweating were not mentioned at all or by very few patients. Analysis showed that some of the symptoms included in the Vertigo Symptom Scale occurred less during an episode of dizziness than others in this sample of patients with peripheral vestibular disorders. It was found that the Vertigo Symptom Scale is an adequate base but may need to be developed for use in patients diagnosed with peripheral vestibular symptoms to be able to evaluate care and treatment.

A Meniere's disease gene linked to chromosome 12p12.3

Meniere's disease (MD) is characterized by spontaneous attacks of vertigo, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness. The majority of patients with MD appear sporadic but 5%-13% of the cases have a family history for the disease. The cause of both the sporadic and inherited forms of MD remains unclear despite a number of candidate genes defined from their association with hearing loss. We have performed a genome wide linkage scan on a large Swedish family segregating MD in five generations. Five candidate regions with a lod score of >1 were identified. Two additional families with autosomal dominant MD were analyzed for linkage to these regions and a cumulative Z(max) of 3.46 was obtained for a single region on chromosome 12p. In two of the three families, a shared haplotype was found to extend over 1.7 Mb which suggests a common ancestral origin. Within this region, a single recombination event restricts the candidate region to 463 kb.

Migraine-associated vertigo

ConclusionsIt is probably not wise to demand a temporal relationship between migraine symptoms and vertigo for the definition of migrainous vertigo. When recurrent vertigo attacks begin at an early age in a patient with normal hearing and migraine, there are few diagnoses other than migraine that need to be considered. ObjectiveThe clinical association between migraine and vestibular symptoms, such as dizziness, motion intolerance and spontaneous attacks of vertigo, is well documented. Recently, investigators have attempted to develop diagnostic criteria for this association. We hypothesized that there are multiple migraine-associated vestibular syndromes and studied a more homogenous subset of them (benign recurrent vertigo). Material and methodsA structured interview was conducted over the telephone with 40 patients who presented to our neurotology clinic with benign recurrent vertigo and met the International Headache Society criteria for migraine. The structured interview was also conducted with 40 relatives of the patients who reported the same symptoms. ResultsA marked female predominance was found. Most of the patients had vertigo attacks lasting minutes or hours and most were completely free of dizziness between attacks. Imbalance and nausea typically accompanied the vertigo. However, in half of the cases, vertigo occurred without an association with headache.

Ménière's disease.

Ménière's disease is characterized by spontaneous attacks of vertigo, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, aural fullness, and tinnitus. The pathologic process involves distortion of the membranous labyrinth with the formation of endolymphatic hydrops. This review describes the pathogenesis and etiology as well as the diagnosis and treatment of Ménière's disease. Initial management of Ménière's disease can involve a low-salt diet and a diuretic. Treatment with intratympanic injection of gentamicin can be beneficial when vertigo persists despite optimal medical management. Recent studies have shown that gentamicin reduces vestibular function in the treated ear, although complete ablation of this vestibular function is not typically required in order to achieve control of vertigo. Vertigo is often the most debilitating symptom associated with Ménière's disease. Many treatment options exist for the management of vertigo. Intratympanic injection of gentamicin (low dose) can be used in patients for whom vertigo has not been controlled by medical measures. Ongoing research is providing a greater understanding of the effects of gentamicin on vestibular function and of the mechanisms through which gentamicin leads to control of vertigo.

Familial Early-onset Progressive Vestibulopathy Without Hearing Impairment

A family with early-onset vestibulopathy is presented. The 34-year-old father had experienced brief attacks of vertigo and currently suffers from unsteadiness and oscillopsia during head movements. His two young sons also experience brief attacks of spontaneous vertigo. In vestibular testing all three subjects showed reduced caloric responses. However, only the father showed reduced otolith function (as reflected by the vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials). Further, all three subjects had walked before the age of 1 year and none of them had had any auditory symptoms. It is suggested that they have familial early-onset progressive vestibulopathy affecting the canals before the otoliths but sparing cochlear function.

Genetics of familial episodic vertigo and ataxia.

The familial episodic ataxias are prototypical inherited channelopathies that result in episodes of vertigo and ataxia triggered by stress and exercise. Episodic ataxia type 1 (EA-1) is caused by missense mutations in the potassium channel gene KCNA1, whereas episodic ataxia type 2 (EA-2) is caused by missense and nonsense mutations in the calcium channel gene CACNA1A. These ion channels are crucial for both central and peripheral neurotransmission. Within the last few years, the genetic mechanisms underlying these relatively rare familial episodic ataxia syndromes have been worked out. They provide a model for understanding the mechanisms of more common recurrent vertigo and ataxia syndromes, particularly those associated with migraine. Migraine affects as many as 15-20% of the general population, and it has been estimated that about 25% of patients with migraine experience spontaneous attacks of vertigo and ataxia. We identified 24 families with migraine and benign recurrent vertigo inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. These families have numerous features in common with EA-1 and EA-2 (particularly EA-2), suggesting that benign recurrent vertigo may be an inherited channelopathy. An ion channel mutation shared by brain and inner ear could explain the combined central and peripheral features of the syndrome.

Sensory interaction platform posturography in patients with Ménière's syndrome

Introduction: The influence on balance by the peripheral vestibular disturbance in Ménière's disease is studied. The influence of visual and proprioceptive support in balance is evaluated. Materlals and Methods: Patients with recurrent spontaneous vertigo attacks (n = 134) were studied, 90 with Ménière's disease and 44 with recurrent vestibulopathy. A posturographic technique was applied with the patient standing on a force plate in four test conditions: (1) eyes open, (2) eyes closed on a stable platform, and the same two conditions on a foam rubber platform. Postural sway was measured for each test and the normality of the results were evaluated by a scoring system. Sensory interaction on balance was assessed by comparing the values of the test results obtained with and without interfering influences on the vestibular-visual-proprioceptive sensory input. Results: The results of the posturographic data were used to subdivide the patients into normal and abnormal groups. Comparison of the tests with and without visual input as well as of the tests with undisturbed and disturbed proprioceptive input were used to evaluate the effect of each sensory input and to determine which effects were dominant. In this way a “pattern” was defined. The interaction effect, thus defined, was most frequently positive, however it could also be negative (negative patterns). Visual effects were most frequent. There was no significant difference for findings between patients who were stabilized and nonstabilized. Negative patterns suggest a complex interaction of the sensory inputs. Conclusion: In these patients with spontaneous vertigo attacks, sensory interaction posturography showed an influence upon balance in the erect position. Different patterns of sensory interaction were found. There was no specific pattern for this category of patients. There was no significant difference related to the “stabilization” of the syndrome.

Sensory interaction testing in platform posturography

Mostly techniques measuring the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) have been used for the evaluation of patients with dizziness problems. Some investigators, however, have also tried to take into account the vestibulospinal reflex (VSR). So recording techniques for the Romberg-test have been proposed and called posturography (PG). By interfering with the visual and proprioceptive sensory inputs during this PG-testing one tries to find out how 'sensory interaction' is organized in the balance performance of the patient examined. To interfere with vision, closure of the eyes has been commonly used and to interfere with proprioception, the patient can be put on foam-rubber, which makes the contribution of the foot-ankle proprioception less adequate. These interferences are applied once separately and once combined. The degree of 'abnormality' is assessed by a score-system for parameters surface (S) and velocity (V), which measure the postural sway. A comparison of tests with and without influence on the sensory inputs gives an idea of the sensory interaction. Patients with peripheral vestibular disorders were examined: patients with BPPV, with spontaneous vertigo attacks and with a sudden vestibular deficit. When applying this evaluation technique different formulae or patterns can be found. Firstly complete normal evaluation, which means that there is no influence of the vestibular disturbance upon the PG results. Secondly a normal balance when using all available sensory information, but disturbed balance as soon as one of the sensory inputs is influenced by the test conditions. Thirdly striking destabilization when closing the eyes. Fourthly striking destabilization when misleading the ankle and foot proprioceptor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Vestibulospinal function in two syndromes with spontaneous attacks of vertigo: evaluation by posturography.

Two vestibular syndromes comprising attacks of spontaneous vertigo were studied and disturbance of the vestibulospinal reflex was evaluated. Patients with Menière's disease were examined between attacks and patients with a sudden unilateral vestibular loss syndrome at least 3-4 weeks after the initial attack. Posturography, (recording and analysing the postural sway) was used to evaluate the influence of these disorders upon the vestibulospinal reflex. In 50% of the patients, the postural sway was disturbed compared with the performance of a normal control group. Menière's disease had a more pronounced effect on the posturographic results, whereas for the unilateral vestibular loss syndrome the rotation tests showed more asymmetry. It is obvious that the effect upon the vestibulospinal reflex cannot be deduced from the rotational test results. Indeed in a large number of patients discordance between rotational test results and posturography was seen. The presence or absence of attacks during the previous year in patients with Menière's disease had no influence on the presence of abnormal posturographic results. If other complaints of dizziness were mentioned by the patient, posturography was nearly always abnormal. It is evident that a complete evaluation of such patients must include information obtained by posturography.