G-induced vestibular dysfunction ('the wobblies') among aerobatic pilots: a case report and review.
G-induced vestibular dysfunction (GIVD) is a condition well known to aircraft pilots who experience high positive and negative G loads during unlimited-aerobatic competitions and air-show demonstrations. After landing and walking from their aircraft, pilots with GIVD manifest an extremely unstable gait, which they call the wobblies. This article includes a report of one such case of GIVD, which to the author's knowledge is the first published case report of this condition in the medical literature. The author also discusses what is known and theorized about the pathogenesis of GIVD, and he reviews its diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Muller
Thomas Upson
TU
University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA. tmuller@ems.jsc.nasa.gov
D000328:Adult; D005684:Gait; D018470:Gravity, Altered / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009759:Nystagmus, Pathologic / Q000209:etiology*; D015837:Vestibular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy