title: Autonomic nervous function in patients with Meniere's disease evaluated by power spectral analysis of heart rate variability.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A hypothesis has been advanced that the autonomic nervous dysfunction (AND) relates to the development of vertigo in Meniere's disease (MD). We also studied the causal relationship between AND and vertigo in MD.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated autonomic nervous function in 17 patients with MD (five men and 12 women ranging in age from 16 to 70 years) by classifying them by their stages of attack and interval of vertigo and with power spectral analysis (PSA) of heart rate variability. Fourteen healthy volunteers were also tested as controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At the interval stage, parasympathetic nervous hypofunction and significant depression of sympathetic response due to postural changes from the supine to the standing position were observed in many of those patients. At the attack stage, sympathetic nervous hypofunction was observed in some of the patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings lead us to the conclusion that AND relates to vertigo in MD as a predisposing factor. However, the question of whether AND relates as a trigger or as a consequence of vertigo in MD has not been adequately solved in this study. We will make further studies on circadian variation of autonomic nervous function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Gifu University School of Medicine, Gifu-ken, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizuta
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furuta
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sawai
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyata
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014717:Vertigo / Q000150:complications