title: Treatment of vertebrobasilar insufficiency--associated vertigo with a fixed combination of cinnarizine and dimenhydrinate.
abstract: Thirty-seven patients suffering from vertigo associated with vertebrobasilar insufficiency participated in our prospective, single-center, double-blind, comparative study. Patients were randomly allocated to treatment with placebo; betahistine (12 mg betahistine dimesylate, one tablet three times daily); or the fixed combination of 20 mg cinnarizine and 40 mg dimenhydrinate (one tablet three times daily) for 4 weeks. The primary efficacy end point was the decrease of the mean vertigo score (S(M)), which was based on the patients' assessments of 12 individual vertigo symptoms after 4 weeks of treatment. Patients treated with the fixed combination showed significantly greater reductions of S(M) as compared to patients receiving placebo (p < .001) or the reference therapy betahistine (p < .01). The vestibulospinal parameter lateral sway (Unterberger's test) improved to a significantly greater extent in patients taking the fixed combination as compared to those receiving placebo (p < .001). No serious adverse event was reported in any therapy group. The tolerability of the fixed combination was judged as very good or good by 91% (betahistine, 73%; placebo, 82%). In conclusion, the fixed combination proved to be statistically more effective than the common antivertiginous drug betahistine in reducing vertebrobasilar insufficiency-associated vertigo symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Otto
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Baumann
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Preibisch-Effenberger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001621:Betahistine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002936:Cinnarizine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004111:Dimenhydrinate / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004338:Drug Combinations; D005260:Female; D006634:Histamine H1 Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014715:Vertebrobasilar Insufficiency / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014717:Vertigo / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests
chemical_list: D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D004338:Drug Combinations; D006634:Histamine H1 Antagonists; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D002936:Cinnarizine; D004111:Dimenhydrinate; D001621:Betahistine