For patients with Ménière disease (MD), positive pressure therapy (PPT) is associated with a reduction in the volume of endolymphatic hydrops (EH), in accordance with a reduction in vertigo attacks, according to a study published online Dec. 1 in Scientific Reports.

Munehisa Fukushima, from Kansai Rosai Hospital in Amagasaki, Japan, and colleagues examined whether PPT causes the morphological and functional changes of the inner ear in patients with active MD in accordance with the decrease in vertigo attacks in a nonrandomized trial in 52 patients (26 in the PPT group and 26 in control group).

The researchers found that the volume of EH decreased significantly with the reduction of vertigo attacks during eight months of PPT combined with medications; with medications alone, there was a significant increase in volume. Regarding vertigo control, there was no difference observed between the control and PPT groups; significant functional improvement of vertical semicircular canals was achieved by the PPT group.

“We confirm that EH volume decreased with a reduction in vertigo attacks when combined with PPT, while EH volume increased with medications alone,” the authors write. “The pathophysiological changes in the inner ear by self-administered PPT are quite different from those caused by medications alone.”

More information:
Munehisa Fukushima et al, Assessment of inner ear morphology and function in response to local positive pressure for Ménière’s disease: a nonrandomized controlled trial, Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25321-z

Journal information:
Scientific Reports

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