Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency as a cause of inner ear diseases.

CONCLUSION: The present study confirms a correlation between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) diagnosis and Ménière's disease (MD). CCSVI could be considered a new ultrasound vascular pattern of the cerebrospinal venous system in patients affected by definite MD. Conversely, the present results showed that CCSVI cannot be considered a pathogenic mechanism for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL).

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between CCSVI and MD and to evaluate if CCSVI can be considered a risk factor also for ISSNHL. Moreover, this study seeks to establish if, even with a different timing of onset and natural history, MD and ISSNHL may share a common pathogenic mechanism.

METHOD: One hundred and eighty-two patients affected by definite MD, 60 patients affected by ISSNHL, and 100 healthy control patients were enrolled in this study. All subjects underwent an echo-color Doppler (ECD) of the cerebrospinal venous flow.

RESULTS: One hundred and fifty-two patients affected by definite MD (83,5%) and 13 patients affected by ISSNHL (21.6%) were positive for CCSVI at the ECD examination of the cerebrospinal venous flow. The healthy control group consisted of 100 subjects and only 21 (21%) showed positivity for CCSVI.