Meniere's Disease

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Meniere's Disease

• Leona Šupljika Gabelica
• Mentor A. Žmegac Horvat

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Meniere's Disease

• French physician Prosper Ménière
• 1861
• vertigo caused by inner ear disorders

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• dizzines and partial loss of hearing in her
  right ear
• vertigo

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• The Starry Night" illustrates his dizziness
• ear pressure and deafness

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• tinnitus
• vertigo
• dizziness
• motion sickness
• vomiting
• tiredness

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What is Meniere's disease ?

• Disorder of the inner ear
• Affects hearing and balance
• Periodic episodes of vertigo or dizziness
• Fluctuating, progressive, unilateral or bilateral
  hearing loss
• Unilateral or bilateral tinnitus
• Sensation of fullness or pressure in one or both
  ears
• Nausea, vomiting, sweating

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What causes Meniere's Disease? (I)

• exact cause - ???
• related to endolymphatic hydrops or excess fluid
  in the inner ear

Model of inner ear fluid compartments (yellow -
perilymphatic space, blue - endolymphatic space)
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What causes Meniere's Disease? (II)

• swelling of the endolymphatic sac or other
  tissues in the vestibular system of the inner ear
  
• endolymphatic duct may be obstructed by scar
  tissue, or be narrow from birth
• too much fluid secreted by the stria vascularis

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What are the risk factors?

• Middle ear infection
• Stress
• Syphilis
• Fatigue
• Head injury
• History of allergies
• Recent viral infection
• Smoking
• Respiratory infection
• Alcohol use

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Diagnosis

• complaints and medical history
• detailed otolaryngological examination
• audiometry
• head MRI scan - to exclude a tumour of the
  vestibulocochlear nerve
• no definitive test for Ménière's - diagnosed when
  all other causes have been ruled out !!

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Treatment (I)

• modification of personal habits
• diet
• stress reduction
• regular exercise
• medications

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Treatment (II)

• restoring balance in the hydrodynamic system of
  the inner ear by applying low-pressure pulses to
  the middle ear

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References

• Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House,
  Inc. Accessed on 9 September 2008
• Meniere disease at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
• Ménière's disease at Who Named It?
• Meniere's disease symptoms". Mayo Clinic.
  2008-06-18. http//www.mayoclinic.com/health/menie
  res-disease/DS00535/DSECTIONsymptoms. Retrieved
  2008-10-17.
• Hazell, Jonathan. "Information on Ménière's
  Syndrome"". http//www.tinnitus.org/home/frame/men
  iere.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-27.

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