title: Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials to air-conducted sound in early amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs) provide assessment of lower-brainstem lesions affecting their neuronal pathways. We aimed to determine whether cVEMPs to air-conducted sound (ACS) are also abnormal in patients with early stages of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with or without bulbar involvement.
  
  
  METHODS
  cVEMPs were recorded in 22 ALS patients and 23 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers. Their latencies and amplitudes were compared between the ALS patients and the control group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  cVEMPs were obtained in all ALS patients and controls. P(13) and N(23) latencies and P(13)-N(23) amplitudes did not significantly differ between controls and ALS patients, either with or without bulbar involvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We postulate that the ACS-cVEMP neural pathway is not affected in patients with early stages of ALS, even with clinical findings of bulbar involvement. Therefore, ACS-cVEMP is not a sensitive diagnostic tool for early detection of brainstem involvement in patients with ALS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Karadeniz Technical University Medical Faculty, 61080 Trabzon, Turkey.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kiliç
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gazioglu
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Serap Zengin
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ulkü Dübüş
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000388:Air; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology; D013016:Sound; D058585:Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials