Analysis of Posterior Circulation Vascularity in Vestibular Neuritis

J Korean Neurol Assoc > Volume 28(2); 2010 > Article

Journal of the Korean Neurological Association 2010;28(2): 91-97.

전정신경염에서 후방순환의 혈관분포에 관한 분석

윤금진, 이승한 오동석 남태승 a 김준태 최성민 a 박만석 a 김병채 김명규 조기현

전남대학교 의과대학 신경과학교실, 화순전남대학교병원 신경과 a

Analysis of Posterior Circulation Vascularity in Vestibular Neuritis

Geum -Jin Yoon

Department of Neurology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju, Korea Department of Neurology a , Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Hwasun, Korea

Abstract

Background: Vestibular neuritis (VN) is one of the most common causes of acute vertigo. Viral infection is regarded to be the most common etiology of VN, but other various causes including labyrinthine ischemia have not yet been fully elucidated. We assumed that labyrinthine ischemia can develop from various disorders in the posterior circulation including vertebral artery hypoplasia and vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia.
Methods: Fifty-six patients with acute VN and 56 healthy controls were enrolled. Two neurologists independently used magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to retrospectively investigate the posterior circulation in VN patients. The relation between the presence of VN and abnormalities of posterior circulation vascularity was analyzed.
Results: MRA findings of vertebral artery hypoplasia and vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia were present in 15 (27%) and 14 (25%) of the VN patients. However, the frequencies of these findings did not differ significantly from those in the healthy controls (p=0.16).
Conclusions: The frequencies of vertebral artery hypoplasia and vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia did not differ significantly between VN patients and healthy subjects. We suggest that brain MRI and MRA are not essential in acute VN patients without central signs. Large prospective studies are needed to characterize the vascular etiology of vestibular neuritis. Key Words: Vestibular neuritis, Vertebral artery hypoplasia, Vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia