Vestibular aqueduct in Menière's disease and non-Menière's disease with endolymphatic hydrops: a computer aided volumetric study.
The volume of the vestibular aqueduct was studied by a computer-aided volumetric method in 9 temporal bones with endolymphatic hydrops from individuals with Menière's disease (MD), 7 temporal bones with endolymphatic hydrops from individuals without a history of Meniere's disease (non-MD hydrops), and 10 normal temporal bones (controls) to investigate the cause of endolymphatic hydrops in both MD and non-MD hydrops. A hypoplastic vestibular aqueduct was found significantly more often in the MD group than in either the non-MD hydrops group (chi 2-test, chi 2 = 4.063, p less than 0.05) or the control group (chi 2-test, chi 2 = 6.363, p less than 0.05). The difference in volume between the non-MD hydrops group and the control group was not significant. It is speculated that a small vestibular aqueduct (presumably containing a small endolymphatic sac) might be a predisposing factor in Menière's disease. In contrast, in non-MD hydrops, there seems to be no correlation of endolymphatic hydrops with a hypoplastic vestibular aqueduct and endolymphatic sac.
Masutani
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Elizabeth McCullough Knowles Otopathology Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pennsylvania.
Takahashi
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H
Sando
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I
Sato
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H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003201:Computers; D004487:Edema / Q000473:pathology*; D004712:Endolymphatic Sac / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D014723:Vestibular Aqueduct / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D015837:Vestibular Diseases / Q000473:pathology*