The value of CT and very low field MRI in the etiological diagnosis of dizziness

A total of 79 dizziness patients were examined by either computed tomography (CT), or very low field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or both. In most cases, the patients were selected for the neuroimaging because preliminary clinical examination had suggested central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Abnormal CT or MRI findings with probable clinical relevance to the etiology of dizziness were obtained in 34%. The most common abnormalities were atrophy, infarction, and demyelination.; 29% of the CT scans and 40% of the MRI showed relevant abnormalities. The present results emphasize the diagnostic usefulness of head CT and MRI when dizziness of CNS etiology is suspected.     

以头晕为主诉的无症状性脑梗死患者焦虑状态的临床分析

目的:探讨以头晕为主诉的无症状性脑梗死(ACI)患者的情绪状态及临床体验并观察抗焦虑/抑郁治疗的疗效.方法:对98例ACI患者采用汉密尔顿焦虑抑郁量表进行筛查,并根据ICD-10的诊断标准做出诊断后,给予抗焦虑/抑郁药物治疗和支持性心理治疗,以治疗前后的汉密尔顿焦虑量表(HAMA)的减分率和临床症状缓解程度来评定疗效.结果:处于焦虑状态的ACI患者,医检证实均有脑血管系统的轻微病损,头晕史0.5～7年,有心悸、气短、眩晕发作、失眠等自诉躯体症状,67.55%伴有高血压;经帕罗西汀和支持性心理治疗,100%显效,临床症状缓解.结论:以头晕为主诉的ACI患者,若经改善脑血流循环治疗无效者,则应实施抗焦虑/抑郁药物治疗和支持性心理治疗,可望获得良好疗效.     

中药合天保康注射液治疗椎——基底动脉供血不足性眩晕74例

[目的]探讨中药伍用天保康注射液治疗椎—基底动脉供血不足性眩晕的疗效。[方法]对椎基底动脉供血不足性眩晕74例,以益气、活血、通络作用的方药伍用静滴天保康注射液治疗。[结果]中药伍用天保康注射液治疗,总有效率达93·24%。[结论]中药伍用天保康注射液治疗椎—基底动脉供血不足性眩晕是一疗效显著的方法。     

Cognitive processing and body balance in elderly subjects with vestibular dysfunction

Abnormal body balance and cognitive dysfunction may develop in elderly patients with chronic vestibular dysfunction.AimTo evaluate the relationship between cognitive processing and body balance in elderly patients with chronic peripheral vestibular disease. Type of Study: Cross-sectional.MethodsSeventy-six patients (≥ 60 years) with chronic peripheral vestibular dysfunction and dizziness for more than three months were enrolled. The tests for investigating body balance were: the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT) Timed Up and Go Test modified (TUGTm); the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), Test Clock (RT,) and Verbal Fluency Test (VF) were applied for assessing cognition.ResultsThe mean age was 69.03 years (SD=6.21 years); most were female (82.9%). There was a significant negative correlation between the MMSE and the TUGT (ρ=-0.312; p=0.01), MMSE and TUGTm (ρ=-0.306; p=0.01), FV and TUGT (ρ=-0.346; p=0.01), and FV and TUGTm (ρ=-0.536; p=0.01); there was a significant positive correlation between the TR and BBS (ρ=0.343; p=0.01), TR and DGI (ρ=0.298; p=0.01), FV and BBS (ρ=0.299; p=0.01), and FV and DGI (ρ=0.306; p=0.01).ConclusionElderly patients with chronic peripheral vestibular disease and worse performance in body balance tests have functional impairment in cognitive skills.     

丹参川芎嗪在椎基底动脉供血不足头晕的研究

目的 探讨丹参川芎嗪对椎基底动脉供血不足头晕的影响.方法 抽取90例医院(2018年3月—2019年3月)收治的椎基底动脉供血不足头晕患者作为研究对象,根据计算机随机分组法,将90例患者分为对照组、试验组,每组45例.对照组用常规药物治疗,试验组用丹参川芎嗪注射液治疗,对比椎基底动脉血流动力学指标、血液流变学相关指标、治疗总有效率.结果 相较于对照组,试验组血流速度较高,而脉动指数较低(P<0.05);相较于对照组,试验组血液流变学相关指较低(P<0.05);相较于对照组,试验组治疗总有效率较高(P<0.05).结论 丹参川芎嗪注射液治疗椎基底动脉供血不足头晕,既可改善椎基底动脉血流动力学指标、血液流变学等相关指标,又能提高治疗总有效率.     

Acetazolamide: A New Treatment for Visual Vertigo

Visual vertigo is a disorder characterised by symptoms of dizziness, vertigo, unsteadiness, disorientation, and general discomfort induced by visual triggers. It is currently treated with vestibular rehabilitation therapy, with no effective pharmacotherapy available for treatment-resistant cases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of oral acetazolamide in improving symptoms of visual vertigo. A comparative case series of adult patients clinically diagnosed with visual vertigo was conducted from January 1992 to May 2015. Patients without a full neurologic or otorhinolaryngologic work-up, negative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and an organic cause for their symptoms were excluded. The identified patients were then contacted by phone to complete a voluntary symptom survey. Main outcome was the subjective reported percentage in symptom improvement. Secondary outcomes were subjective improvement by symptom triggers. The participants were retrospectively divided into three groups based on their treatment with acetazolamide: currently on acetazolamide, terminated acetazolamide, or never initiated acetazolamide. Fifty-seven patients met the inclusion criteria and were willing to complete the phone survey (19 currently on acetazolamide, 27 terminated acetazolamide, and 11 never initiated therapy). Overall symptomatic improvement was reported by 18 (94.7%) patients currently on acetazolamide, 18 (66.7 %) who terminated acetazolamide, and 5 (45.5%) who never initiated therapy, varying significantly by group (p = 0.0061). Greatest improvement was reported in symptoms triggered by being a passenger in a car. These results show that acetazolamide has a positive association with improvement of symptoms of visual vertigo.     

Short-term retention effect of rehabilitation using head position-based electrotactile feedback to the tongue: Influence of vestibular loss and old-age

Our objective was to evaluate whether the severity of vestibular loss and old-age (>65) affect a patient's ability to benefit from training using head-position based, tongue-placed electrotactile feedback. Seventy-one chronic dizzy patients, who had reached a plateau with their conventional rehabilitation, followed six 1-h training sessions during 4 consecutive days (once on days 1 and 4, twice on days 2 and 3). They presented bilateral vestibular areflexia (BVA), bilateral vestibular losses (BVL), unilateral vestibular areflexia or unilateral vestibular losses and were divided into two age-subgroups (≤65 and >65). Posturographic assessments were performed without the device, 4 h before and after the training. Patients were tested with eyes opened and eyes closed (EC) on static and dynamic (passively tilting) platforms. The studied posturographic scores improved significantly, especially under test conditions restricting either visual or somatosensory input. This 4-h retention effect was greater in older compared to younger patients and was proportional to the degree of vestibular loss, patients with increased vestibular losses showing greater improvements. In bilateral patients, who constantly fell under dynamic-EC condition at the baseline, the therapy effect was expressed by disappearance of falls in BVL and significant prolongation in time-to-fall in BVA subgroups.Globally, our data showed that short training with head-position based, tongue-placed electrotactile biofeedback improves balance in chronic vestibulopathic patients some 16.74% beyond that achieved with standard balance physiotherapy. Further studies with longer use of this biofeedback are needed to investigate whether this approach could have long-lasting retention effect on balance and quality of life.     

The evidence base for the evaluation and management of dizziness

Objectives  Dizziness presentations pose many clinical challenges. The objective of this study is to broadly summarize the evidence base that supports clinical decisions in dizziness presentations.
Methods  MEDLINE (1966 to September 2007), Web of Science and The Cochrane Library were searched for articles with clinical relevance on topics concerning dizziness. Additional sources were also searched for clinical practice guidelines. The following information was abstracted from each article: year of publication, journal type, type of article and the topics of the article.
Results  Of nearly 3000 articles identified, 1244 articles met the inclusion criteria. The most common article type was a case report or case series, followed by expert opinion or review articles, studies of medical tests and clinical trials. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews were found on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo and Meniere's disease, but only a few other topics. No clinical practice guidelines were found that focus specifically on dizziness.
Conclusions  The evidence base for the evaluation and management of dizziness seems to be weak. Future work to establish or summarize evidence in clinically meaningful ways could contribute to efforts to optimize patient care and health care utilization for one of the most common presenting symptoms.