Vertigo Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Vertigo, including details on causes, symptoms, treatment, dizziness.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of the anterior semicircular canal: Atypical clinical findings and possible underlying mechanisms.

Korres S, Riga M, Balatsouras D, Sandris V

ENT Dept., Hippokration Hospital, University of Athens, Greece.

Anterior semicircular canal (ASC) lithiasis is uncommon and usually self-treated. In the rare cases when such patients seek medical advice, diagnosis requires careful consideration of the patient's symptoms and the clinical characteristics of the nystagmus triggered by the Dix-Hallpike (D-H) examination. In this study, two atypical cases of ASC benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) are presented and the relevant literature is reviewed. Regardless of their unique symptoms, both participants in this study were diagnosed with lithiasis of the left ASC. The clinical manifestations of ASC BPPV may differ significantly from typical symptoms seen in the more common posterior semicircular canal BPPV. The possible mechanisms responsible for this intriguing variance, as well as guidelines for diagnosing the affected side, are discussed.

Published 9 May 2008 in Int J Audiol, 47(5): 276-82.
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Articles on Vertigo published 6 May 2008:

Giant arachnoid granulation in a patient with benign intracranial hypertension.   Eur Radiol.

We report magnetic resonance (MR), computed tomography (CT) and angiographic imaging of an unusual giant arachnoid granulation in the superior sagittal sinus in a man with headache and vertigo. Intrasinus pressure measurements revealed a significant pressure gradient across the lesion. MR imaging is useful to identify giant arachnoid granulation and dural sinus thrombosis, whereas dural sinus pressure measurement in certain cases of giant arachnoid granulations can be used to evaluate the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Vertigo published 29 April 2008:

Potassium channel blocker 4-aminopyridine is effective in interictal cerebellar symptoms in episodic ataxia type 2 - A video case report.   Mov Disord.

Episodic ataxia type 2 (EA2) is an autosomal-dominant hereditary disorder clinically characterized by recurrent attacks of vertigo, imbalance and ataxia. Studies have shown that 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) is capable to prevent these attacks. However, there are no reports whether 4-AP is able to attenuate interictal cerebellar ataxia. Using the scale for assessment and rating of ataxia (SARA), we examined the efficacy of 4-AP on interictal ataxia in a 63-year-old female patient who suffered from EA2 ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Vertigo published 28 April 2008:

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo involving each semicircular canal.   Am J Otolaryngol, 29(3): 184-7.

PURPOSE: We have investigated vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) as a function of age and the involvement of each of the 3 semicircular canals in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed prospective assessment from January 2005 to September 2006. Vestibular evoked myogenic potential was measured in 53 patients with BPPV and 84 healthy subjects, with the latter subdivided by patient age. RESULTS: The subgroup of healthy subjects ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Vertigo published 24 April 2008:

Prognostic Model for Predicting Hearing Recovery in Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.   Otol Neurotol.

HYPOTHESIS:: To aid in realistic counseling of patients at the time of their first visit concerning their chances for recovery, we created a simple prognostic model for predicting hearing recovery in idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL). BACKGROUND:: An important element of research on ISSHL is to identify prognostic factors for this disease. Many studies have described predictive indicators to identify patients with a good prognosis needing no or minimal treatment. Only a few ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Vertigo published 23 April 2008:

Psychometric properties of the Vertigo symptom scale - Short form.   BMC Ear Nose Throat Disord, 8: 2.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Vertigo symptom scale - short form (VSS-SF), a condition-specific measure of dizziness, following translation of the scale into Norwegian. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey design was used to examine the factor structure, internal consistency and discriminative ability (sample I, n = 503). A cross-sectional pre-intervention design was used to examine the construct validity (sample II, n = 36) of the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Identification of predictors and development of a screening protocol for cerebello-pontine lesions in patients presenting with audio-vestibular dysfunction.   Clin Otolaryngol, 33(2): 102-7.

OBJECTIVES: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning in the investigation of cerebellopontine angle lesions represents a finite resource, the use of which needs to be carefully rationalised. Our aim was to identify predictive factors that can distinguish between patients with and without cerebellopontine angle lesions, and develop a screening protocol which could be useful in the clinical setting as an aid to clinical judgment. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Secondary care. PARTICIPANTS: ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Vertigo published 22 April 2008:

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo after radiologic scanning: a case series.   J Med Case Reports, 2: 92.

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common type of vertigo. It is frequently seen in elderly patients, and the course of the attack may easily mimic cerebrovascular disease. A BPPV attack after a radiologic examination has not been reported previously. We report the cases of two patients who had BPPV attacks after radiologic imaging. CASE PRESENTATION: The first patient with headache and tremor was admitted to the radiology department for cranial ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Headaches related to triptans therapy in patients of migrainous vertigo.   J Headache Pain.

Dizziness and vertigo are frequently reported by patients with migraine. In migrainous vertigo (MV), vertigo is causally related to migraine. Patients of MV usually have an attenuated or absent headache with their vertigo as compared with their usual headache of migraine. Here we report three female patients of MV in which administration of triptan was associated with induction (two patients) or exacerbation (one patient) of headache with disappearance of vertigo. We suggest that headache and ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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