cortisol-succinate--sodium-salt and Meniere-Disease

A 53-year-old male with fluctuating low frequency sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus, but without vertigo, was evaluated by MRI obtained by intratympanic injection of a gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) before and after the administration of isosorbide. The endolymphatic hydrops was semi-quantitatively evaluated by a 3.0-T MR scanner. For quantification, the affected side/contralateral side ratios were calculated. A gadodiamide (a kind of GBCA)-enhanced space surrounding the endolymph in the affected side with a 0.50 ratio (which may have represented endolymphatic hydrops) improved after isosorbide therapy to a 0.98 ratio. Thus, endolymphatic hydrops was demonstrated in a patient with 'atypical' Meniere's disease (MD), suggesting that at least some atypical MD may share similar etiology with, and therefore be a continuum of, MD. Also, therapeutic effects could be visualized by using MRI. Therefore, MRI-based diagnosis of MD-related disease will be a powerful tool not only because of its precision but also its usefulness for therapeutic evaluation.

Topics: Anti-Inflammatory Agents; Contrast Media; Diuretics, Osmotic; Drug Therapy, Combination; Endolymph; Endolymphatic Hydrops; Gadolinium DTPA; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural; Humans; Hydrocortisone; Image Enhancement; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Isosorbide; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Meniere Disease; Middle Aged; Perilymph; Tinnitus