The Loading Equilibrium Examination for Etiologic Diagnosis of Menibre's Disease

Abstract

Loading equilibrium examinations were carried out to diagnose the etiologic factors in the labyrinthine disturbance in individual cases of Menitre's disease. The examinations were designed to estimate the variations of labyrinthine function provoked by loading to the circulatory, autonomic nervous, or metabolic system of the patients through equilibrium examinations such as ataxiagram, writing test, stepping test, and/or electronystagmogram. When the loading induced disturbance of labyrinthine function, dysfunction of the system loaded was judged to be a significant etiologic factor for Menitre's disease.

As a result, equilibrium was disturbed by loading of standing in 9 of 12 cases, by pressure upon the eyeballs in 33 of 46 cases, by pressure upon the carotid sinus in 21 of 37 cases, by injection of the autonomic drugs, i.e. by adrenalin in 29 of 42 cases, by pilocarpine in 28 of 42 cases, and by atropine in 21 of 42 cases, by histamine injection in 4 of 15 cases, by water loading in 31 of 58 cases, and by neck torsion in 11 of 30 cases. Attacks of vertigo were induced in 2 cases each by water loading and pilocarpine injection. The loading equilibrium examination was useful both for the etiologic diagnosis of Menière's disease and for the choice of therapy.