Journal Reviews
Vascular vertigo and dizziness: diagnostic criteria
This diagnostic criteria is one of the latest produced by The Bárány Society. It is a useful addition to previous ones for vestibular disorders. Vascular vertigo/dizziness by definition is caused by stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA), isolated labyrinthine infarction/haemorrhage and...
Canal plugging for intractable Meniere’s disease
In this single centre retrospective study, the authors applied semicircular canal plugging, well known as a treatment for refractory BPPV, to intractable unilateral Meniere’s disease (MD) that had failed to respond to medical treatment with betahistine and hydrochlorothiazide. However, in...
Is virtual reality the future of vestibular rehabilitation?
The use of virtual reality (VR) in vestibular rehabilitation is gaining some popularity but availability is hampered by cost. One VR system in use in some centres is the Hybrid VR unit which incorporates motion trackers and force platforms. This...
Should all patients with BPPV have an MRI?
This paper describes an interesting series of 500 patients over a 10-year period with posterior canal BPPV, who had been investigated with MRI. The female to male ratio was 1.6:1 with a mean age of 56. There was a right...
Vestibular paroxysmia, diagnostic controversy clarified?
Historically, the cause of vestibular paroxysmia (VP) had been attributed to neurovascular compression of the eighth cranial despite the observation that such compression is very common in asymptomatic subjects. This paper, part of International Classification of Vestibular Disorders (ICVD) by...
Performing a labyrinthectomy
This article takes the reader through the two main approaches for a labyrinthectomy for intractable Meniere’s disease. These are the traditional trans-mastoid and the less well known trans-canal. They state that according to the House clinic, the selection criteria for...
Epley Manoeuvre: number of times it is required and its diagnostic value
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is a common condition but if inadequately treated or wrongly diagnosed, can prolong the distressing symptoms of momentary dizziness, nausea and visual disturbances which can be due to other causes and deteriorate quality of life. Studies...
Day care stapes surgery
This paper reports on a proposed unblinded, randomised controlled trial in which the hearing outcomes after inpatient stapes surgery will be compared with those after day case stapes surgery. The study is currently in the recruitment stage and plans to...
International classification of BPPV
In the past few years, the Bárány Society has made great strides in defining and classifying vestibular disorders along the lines of the international classification of diseases. This article addresses the diagnostic criteria for BPPV, the commonest cause of vertigo....
New diagnostic criteria for Ménière’s disease – an international consensus
Most readers are familiar with the American Academy diagnostic criteria for Ménière’s disease (MD) but a significant minority will be aware of other criteria from Japan and Korea. This new effort is a collaboration between these three bodies and the...
