Posterior Semicircular Canal Plugging Relieves Tumarkin's Crisis in Ménière's Disease Patients.

(1) Background: Patients affected by Ménière's disease can experience Tumarkin's syndrome, which is characterized by postural instability, gait abnormalities, and, occasionally, an abrupt loss of balance known as vestibular drop attack or Tumarkin's crisis. In this study, semicircular canal plugging is proposed as the definitive treatment for this condition. The outcomes of this type of surgery are discussed.

Posterior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence with Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex Reduction for the Affected Canal at the Video-Head Impulse Test: Considerations to Pathomechanisms.

Posterior semicircular canal dehiscence (PSCD) has been demonstrated to result in a third mobile window mechanism (TMWM) in the inner ear similar to superior semicircular canal dehiscence (SSCD). Typical clinical and instrumental features of TMWM, including low-frequency conductive hearing loss (CHL), autophony, pulsatile tinnitus, sound/pressure-induced vertigo and enhanced vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials, have been widely described in cases with PSCD. Nevertheless, video-head impulse test (vHIT) results have been poorly investigated.

Acute isolated vertigo with vertical up-beating nystagmus: A rare case of nucleus intercalatus of Staderini ischemia.

The role of intercalatus nucleus of Staderini (INS), the most caudal of the perihypoglossal nuclei, is much debated. Last research seems to suggest that this nucleus plays a role as a vertical eyes movements integrator. The few clinical reports present in the literature that describe isolated lesions of the INS have described patients presenting in acute with up-beating vertical spontaneous nystagmus.

Paroxysmal Positional Nystagmus in Acoustic Neuroma Patients.

The association between acoustic neuroma and positional vertigo with paroxysmal positional nystagmus is relatively rare, but, when present, it certainly represents a challenge for the otoneurologist. There are few reports in the literature on this particular issue, and some questions are still unanswered, particularly regarding the characteristics of positional nystagmus that may distinguish between a true benign paroxysmal vertigo and a positional nystagmus associated with the tumor. We present the videonystagmographic patterns of seven patients with acoustic tumor who had paroxysmal positional nystagmus and analyzed its features.

Increased choroidal thickness in a patient with acquired hyperopia and choroidal folds syndrome.

Purpose: syndrome of acquired hyperopia with choroidal folds is a rare syndrome characterized by flattening of the posterior pole with subsequent hyperopization of the eye and a creation of a space between the optic nerve and its sheath. Though uncommon and more often benign, it represents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Correct diagnosis is helpful to exclude other possible causes of choroidal folds.

Posterior semicircular canal ossification following acute vestibular loss mimicking inferior vestibular neuritis: A case report.

Vestibular neuritis (VN) mostly involves the superior vestibular nerve. Isolated inferior vestibular neuritis (IVN) has been more rarely described. The diagnosis of IVN is based on an abnormal head impulse test (HIT) for the posterior semicircular canal (PSC), pathological cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (C-VEMPs), and spontaneous downbeat nystagmus consistent with acute functional loss of inner ear sensors lying within the inferior part of the labyrinth.

Sequential Vestibular Neuritis: Report of Four Cases and Literature Review.

Background And Objectives: Bilateral sequential vestibular neuritis (BSVN) is a rare condition in which an inflammation or an ischemic damage of the vestibular nerve occurs bilaterally in a sequential pattern. We described four cases of BSVN.

Subjects And Methods: Every patient underwent video-head impulse test during the first and the second episode of vestibular neuritis (VN), furthermore they have been studied with radiological imaging.

Upright BPPV Protocol: Feasibility of a New Diagnostic Paradigm for Lateral Semicircular Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo Compared to Standard Diagnostic Maneuvers.

The diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) involving the lateral semicircular canal (LSC) is traditionally entrusted to the supine head roll test, also known as supine head yaw test (SHYT), which usually allows identification of the pathologic side and BPPV form (geotropic vs. apogeotropic). Nevertheless, SHYT may not always allow easy detection of the affected canal, resulting in similar responses on both sides and intense autonomic symptoms in patients with recent onset of vertigo.

Comparison between Fundus Automated Perimetry and Humphrey Field Analyzer: Performance and usability of the Fundus Automated Perimetry and Humphrey Field Analyzer in healthy, ocular hypertensive, and glaucomatous patients.

Purpose: We compared the performance and usability of the Fundus Automated Perimetry (FAP) and Humphrey Field Analyzer (HFA) in patients with glaucoma, ocular hypertension, and healthy subjects.

Materials And Methods: A total of 60 participants, divided in three groups of 20, glaucoma (POAG), ocular hypertension (OHT), and controls group, underwent a HFA test 24-2 SITA standard and a FAP test 24-2 ZEST sequence, in randomized order. The mean differences between perimeters of mean deviation (MD), pattern standard deviation (PSD) were correlated using the -test and the Bland-Altman plot while execution time, Glaucoma Staging System 2 (GSS2), Hodapp-Parrish-Anderson staging system, localization of the defect, false positives (FP), and false negatives (FN) were compared with -test analysis.

Pneumolabyrinth and Recurrent Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo After Traumatic Stapes Fracture.

Objectives:: The development of pneumolabyrinth without previous head trauma is a rare event; the associated symptoms may be nonspecific, and they can simulate various cochleo-vestibular pathological entities. The aim of the present study is to describe one of these rare occurrences, characterized by a peculiar onset.

Methods:: We report a case of stapes fracture secondary to ear pick penetration into the middle ear with a pneumolabyrinth that caused a recurrent paroxysmal positional vertigo (PPV) mimicking a canalolithiasis.

Spontaneous Canalith Jam and Apogeotropic Horizontal Canal Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo: Considerations on a Particular Case Mimicking an Acute Vestibular Deficit.

Objective: Canalith jam refers to a condition caused by an otolithic clump blocked inside a semicircular canal, generally provoked by canalith repositioning procedure. We describe the first case of spontaneous canalith jam mimicking an acute vestibular deficit.

Patient: We report the case of an 82-year-old woman who suffered a sudden episode of persistent rotational vertigo with nausea and vomiting, not provoked by head movements.

Retraction pocket excision with cartilage grafting as a preventive surgery for cholesteatoma.

Aims: The goal of the present study is to summarize our experience on surgical management of retraction pockets (RP) as a preventive tool against cholesteatomas.

Methods: Twenty-five ears have been followed up for a mean period of 6.16 ± 4.

Sneezing and Perilymphatic Fistula of the Round Window: Case Report and Systematic Review of the Literature.

The goal of the present study was to describe a case of perilymphatic fistula (PLF) of the round window (RW) that occurred after sneezing, along with a review of the literature. We report a case of PLF of RW, which was provoked by sneezing, and its consequent medical and surgical treatments. With respect to the review of the literature, articles were initially selected based on their titles or abstracts, followed by methodological evaluation.

Longterm Safety and Efficacy of Adalimumab and Infliximab for Uveitis Associated with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Objective: Anti-TNF-α agents have significantly changed the management of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). We evaluated the safety and efficacy of adalimumab (ADA) and infliximab (IFX) for the treatment of JIA-associated uveitis in patients treated for ≥ 2 years.

Methods: Patients with JIA-associated uveitis treated with IFX and ADA were managed by a standardized protocol and data were entered in the ORCHIDEA registry.

Ophthalmologic wax models as an educational tool for 18th-century vision scientists.

The Medical Faculties of the University of Padua (Italy) and the University of Vienna (Austria) preserved two series of wax models, made by the Austrian Johann Nepomuk Hoffmayr at the beginning of the 19th century. These models were created in a period of evolution of both medical specialties and organ pathology, which brought morbid organs at the centre of medical investigation. Ceroplastic was considered a useful tool for didactic and research, as it provided a three-dimensional realistically coloured reproduction of organic lesions.

Congenital Intratympanic Cholesteatoma in an Adult Patient: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Congenital cholesteatoma within the tympanic membrane is an uncommon entity, with only few cases being documented. The aetiopathogenesis of this lesion is still unknown; however, when cholesteatoma develops in subjects without any history of previous ear inflammation, as in the case we report here, an embryologic origin is deeply suspected. An acquired origin is hypothesized in patients with a previous history of an inflammatory process of the external or middle ear because of the proliferation of the basal cell layer of the tympanic membrane epithelium.

In Vivo Detection of Choroidal Abnormalities Related to NF1: Feasibility and Comparison With Standard NIH Diagnostic Criteria in Pediatric Patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of near-infrared (NIR) imaging acquisition in a large sample of consecutive pediatric patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), to evaluate the diagnostic performance of NF1-related choroidal abnormalities as a diagnostic criterion of the disease, and to compare this criterion with other standard National Institutes of Health (NIH) diagnostic criteria.

Methods: A total of 140 consecutive pediatric patients (0-16 years old) affected by NF1 (at least two diagnostic criteria), 59 suspected (a single diagnostic criterion), and 42 healthy subjects (no diagnostic criterion) were consecutively included. Each patient underwent genetic, dermatologic, and ophthalmologic examination to evaluate the presence/absence of each NIH diagnostic criterion.