Background and Objectives:
Anecdotal studies have reported the presence of anti-ganglioside antibodies in acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy (AUPV). This study aimed to determine the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and neurotologic findings of AUPV associated with anti-ganglioside antibodies.
Methods:
Serum anti-gangliosides were measured in consecutive patients with AUPV according to the Bárány Society criteria during the acute and recovery phases, in a referral-based university hospital in South Korea from September 2019 to January 2023. Clinical characteristics and neurotologic findings were compared between those with and without anti-ganglioside antibodies. The results of video-oculography, video head-impulse and bithermal caloric tests, and other neurotologic evaluations including ocular and cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials, subjective visual vertical were compared between the two. MRIs dedicated to the inner ear were also conducted when considered necessary.
Results:
One hundred and five patients (mean age±standard deviation [SD] = 60±13 years, 57 male) were included for analyses. During the acute phase, 12 patients (12/105, 11%) were tested positive for serum anti-ganglioside antibodies, including anti-GQ1b IgG (n=5) or IgM (n=4), anti-GM1 IgM (n=3), and anti-GD1a IgG (n=1, including one with a positive anti-GQ1b antibody). Patients with anti-ganglioside antibodies showed lesser intensity of spontaneous nystagmus (median [interquartile range (IQR)] = 1.8 [1.2–2.1] vs. 3.4 [1.5–9.5], p=0.003), a lesser degree of canal paresis (30 [17–47] vs. 58 [34–79], p=0.028), and gain asymmetry of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) for the horizontal semicircular canal (HC) during head impulse tests (HITs) (0.07 [-0.04–0.61] vs. 0.36 [0.18–0.47], p=0.032) than those without antibodies. Negative conversion of antibodies and vestibular recovery were observed in most patients (6/8, 75%). Among 30 AUPV patients with 4-hour delayed 3D-FLAIR dedicated to the inner ear, gadolinium enhancement was observed in 18 (18/30, 60%), either in the vestibule (n=9), semicircular canal (n=6), or vestibular nerve (n=5). The positivity rates based on specific antibodies could not be determined due to limited sample sizes.
Discussion:
The association between anti-ganglioside antibodies and AUPV suggests an immune-mediated mechanism in acute vestibular failure and extends the clinical spectrum of anti-ganglioside antibody syndrome.