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Benign positional vertigo and endolymphatic hydrops: what is the connection?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 June 2017

A F Jahn*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Mount Sinai West Hospital, New York, USA
*
Address for correspondence: Dr A F Jahn, Department of Otolaryngology, Mt Sinai West Hospital, 1000 10th Ave, New York, NY 10019, USA E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Background:

Although benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and endolymphatic hydrops are considered to be distinct diagnoses, a minority of vertiginous patients exhibit features of both conditions. This coincidence has been reported previously in the literature, and is reviewed here in terms of possible aetiology.

Results and conclusion:

A new hypothesis to account for both conditions is offered, implicating free-floating degenerating debris from the otolithic apparatus. It is postulated that the gelatinous/proteinaceous component may account for an osmotically induced hydrops, while the calcified fragments may induce positional vertigo.

Type
Review Articles
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2017 

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Footnotes

Presented at the 7th Asia Pacific Otology Neurotology Conference, 11–13 May 2016, Tehran, Iran.

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