ObjectivesTo evaluate the onset of vertigo, hearing loss and tinnitus in Ménière's disease and the associated endolymphatic hydrops (EH) of the inner ear.DesignMulticentre evaluation of three patient groups.SettingsDisease-specific symptoms were reviewed among referred patients in a tertiary referral hospital in Finland and in members of a Finnish Ménière Association in Finland. The MRI of a separate group of patients was undertaken in a tertiary referral centre in Japan.Participants340 patients were reviewed in the referral hospital along with 740 members of the Ménière Association. MRI was undertaken in 224 patients in Japan.Primary and secondary outcome measuresLatency and symptom development in Ménière's disease, and the appearance of EH of the inner ear in monosymptomatic patients and in Ménière's disease.ResultsThe mean age of the first symptom was 43.8 years, with 10% of the patients being older than 65 years. The time delay between hearing loss and vertigo was more than 5 years in 20% of the members and of the patients. Gadolinium-contrasted MRI demonstrated EH in 90% of the patients with Ménière's disease, in which 75% was bilateral among patients with unilateral symptoms. In monosymptomatic patients with vertigo, tinnitus or hearing loss; EH was demonstrated in 55–90% of the patients either in the cochlea and/or the vestibulum of the symptomatic ear.ConclusionsMénière's disease often shows bilateral EH and comprises a continuum from a monosymptomatic disease to the typical symptom complex of the disease. We suggest that a 3T MRI measurement should be carried out in patients with sensory-neural hearing loss, vertigo and tinnitus, 4 h after the intravenous injection of a gadolinium-contrast agent to verify the inner ear pathology. This may lead to a better management of the condition.

3D-FLAIR findings show that high signals in the cochlea on precontrast 3D-FLAIR are related to a poor hearing prognosis. These signals may reflect minor hemorrhage or an increased concentration of protein in the inner ear, which has passed through blood vessels with increased permeability or has originated in disrupted cells in the inner ear.

Fourteen ears with Ménière's disease showed intense Gd contrast on MRI compared with that in the 10 asymptomatic contralateral ears of patients with unilateral Ménière's disease (1.12 ± 0.36 vs 0.82 ± 0.15). The hydrops grade was correlated significantly with the contrast effect. The 14 ears with Ménière's disease had endolymphatic hydrops. Of the 10 contralateral ears of patients with unilateral Ménière's disease, 2 had endolymphatic hydrops in the cochlea and 6 had endolymphatic hydrops in the vestibule.

Purpose: Many inner ear disorders, including M áeni àere's disease, are believed to be based on endolymphatic hydrops. We evaluated a newly proposed method for semi-quantiˆcation of endolymphatic size in patients with suspected endolymphatic hydrops that uses 2 kinds of processed magnetic resonance (MR) images.Methods: Twenty-four consecutive patients underwent heavily T 2 -weighted (hT 2 W) MR cisternography (MRC), hT 2 W 3-dimensional (3D) ‰uid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) with inversion time of 2250 ms (positive perilymph image, PPI), and hT 2 W-3D-IR with inversion time of 2050 ms (positive endolymph image, PEI) 4 hours after intravenous administration of single-dose gadolinium-based contrast material (IV-SD-GBCM). Two images were generated using 2 new methods to process PPI, PEI, and MRC. Three radiologists contoured the cochlea and vestibule on MRC, copied regions of interest (ROIs) onto the 2 kinds of generated images, and semi-quantitatively measured the size of the endolymph for the cochlea and vestibule by setting a threshold pixel value.Results: Each observer noted a strong linear correlation between endolymphatic size of both the cochlea and vestibule of the 2 kinds of generated images. The Pearson correlation coe‹cients (r) were 0.783, 0.734, and 0.800 in the cochlea and 0.924, 0.930, and 0.933 in the vestibule (Pº0.001, for all). In both the cochlea and vestibule, repeated-measures analysis of variance showed no statistically signiˆcant diŠerence between observers.Conclusion: Use of the 2 kinds of generated images generated from MR images obtained 4 hours after IV-SD-GBCM might enable semi-quantiˆcation of endolymphatic size with little observer dependency.

It has been reported previously that intravenously administered gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) leaks into the subarachnoid space around the cortical veins at 4 h after injection in all old people over 37 years, but not in younger people up to 37 years of age in 3D-real IR images. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there was a strict threshold of 37 years of age for the leakage of the GBCA into the subarachnoid space. Methods: The subjects included 190 patients, that were scanned for 3D-real IR images at 4 hours after intravenous injection of GBCA as a diagnostic test for endolymphatic hydrops. The patient's age ranged from 14 to 81 years. Two experienced neuroradiologists evaluated the images to determine whether the GBCA leakage around the cortical veins was positive or negative. Any discrepancies between the two observers were discussed and a consensus was obtained. A Mann-Whitney U test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used to compare the positive and the negative group and to set the age cutoff value for the prediction of GBCA leakage. Results: The GBCA leakage around the cortical veins was negative in 35 patients and positive in 155 patients. The average age was 33 ± 11 years in the negative group, and 55 ± 12 years in the positive group (P < 0.01). In the ROC analysis for the age and leakage of the GBCA, an area under the curve was 0.905 and the cutoff age was 37.317 years (sensitivity of 0.942 and specificity of 0.771). Conclusion: Intravenously administered GBCA leaks into the subarachnoid space around the cortical veins in most patients over 37 years of age. However, it should be noted that it can be found occasionally in patients under 37 years of age.