PURPOSE OF REVIEW Ménière's disease is characterized by spontaneous attacks of vertigo, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, aural fullness, and tinnitus. The pathologic process involves distortion of the membranous labyrinth with the formation of endolymphatic hydrops. This review describes the pathogenesis and etiology as well as the diagnosis and treatment of Ménière's disease. RECENT F...

Liposome nanocarriers (LPNs) are potentially the future of inner ear therapy due to their high drug loading capacity and efficient uptake in the inner ear after a minimally invasive intratympanic administration. However, information on the biocompatibility of LPNs in the inner ear is lacking. The aim of the present study is to document the biocompatibility of LPNs in the inner ear after intraty...

BACKGROUND Ménière's disease is characterised by severe vertigo attacks and hearing loss. Intratympanic gentamicin, the standard treatment for refractory Ménière's disease, reduces vertigo, but damages vestibular function and can worsen hearing. We aimed to assess whether intratympanic administration of the corticosteroid methylprednisolone reduces vertigo compared with gentamicin. METHODS In...

CONCLUSION As the periods of intratympanic injection of ovalbumin (OVA) to the middle ear became longer, marked eosinophil infiltration in the perilymphatic space was observed. Moreover severe morphological damage of the organ of Corti was observed in the 28-day antigen-stimulation side. These results indicate that eosinophilic inflammation occurred in the inner ear and caused profound hearing ...

BACKGROUND Treatment of inner ear diseases remains a problem because of limited passage through the blood-inner ear barriers and lack of control with the delivery of treatment agents by intravenous or oral administration. As a minimally-invasive approach, intratympanic delivery of multifunctional nanoparticles (MFNPs) carrying genes or drugs to the inner ear is a future therapy for treating inn...

Aperilymphatic fistula (PLF) is any abnormal communication between the middle ear or mastoid and the inner ear. Trauma, prior stapes surgery, and barotrauma are accepted etiologies; however, controversy exists over the existence of spontaneous PLF. Typical symptoms include fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, aural fullness, vertigo, and disequilibrium. PLF diagnosis is based on hi...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS 1) To evaluate the efficacy of, and problems with, intratympanic gentamicin injection (ITG) in medically intractable definite Ménière's disease (MD) and secondary endolymphatic hydrops (EH); and 2) to review the vestibular status and treatment options of intractable vertigo even after ITG. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective case review and survey. METHODS 780 patients with def...

Titration therapy with intratympanic gentamicin offers class A or B control of vertigo in 87% (range, 75%-100%) of patients with unilateral Ménière's disease. The risk of additional hearing loss is about 21% (range,0-37%). Vertigo may recur, however, in nearly one third of patients over time. These recurrences can also be treated by intratympanic gentamicin with a similar risk of hearing loss. ...