Vestibular rehabilitation improves spontaneous nystagmus normalization in patients with acute unilateral vestibulopathy.

Introduction: Spontaneous nystagmus (SN) can be observed after acute unilateral vestibulopathy (AUVP). The slow phase eye velocity of the SN progressively decreases in darkness as the result of rebalanced neurophysiological activity between both vestibular nuclei, a process that can take several months. Although this compensatory process can occur spontaneously, there is poor evidence that vestibular rehabilitation (VR) can facilitate the process.

Two conditions to fully recover dynamic canal function in unilateral peripheral vestibular hypofunction patients.

Background: The crucial role of early vestibular rehabilitation (VR) to recover a dynamic semicircular canal function was recently highlighted in patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction (UVH). However, wide inter-individual differences were observed, suggesting that parameters other than early rehabilitation are involved.

Objective: The aim of the study was to determine to what extent the degree of vestibular loss assessed by the angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (aVOR) gain could be an additional parameter interfering with rehabilitation in the recovery process.

Rehabilitation of dynamic visual acuity in patients with unilateral vestibular hypofunction: earlier is better.

Purpose: Patients with acute peripheral unilateral hypofunction (UVH) complain of vertigo and dizziness and show posture imbalance and gaze instability. Vestibular rehabilitation therapy (VR) enhances the functional recovery and it has been shown that gaze stabilization exercises improved the dynamic visual acuity (DVA). Whether the effects of VR depend or not on the moment when it is applied remains however unknown, and investigation on how the recovery mechanisms could depend or not on the timing of VR has not yet been tested.

How Eye Movements Stabilize Posture in Patients With Bilateral Vestibular Hypofunction.

Chronic patients with bilateral vestibular hypofunction (BVH) complain of oscillopsia and great instability particularly when vision is excluded and on irregular surfaces. The real nature of the visual input substituting to the missing vestibular afferents and improving posture control remains however under debate. Is retinal slip involved? Do eye movements play a substantial role? The present study tends to answer this question in BVH patients by investigating their posture stability during quiet standing in four different visual conditions: total darkness, fixation of a stable space-fixed target, and pursuit of a visual target under goggles delivering visual input rate at flicker frequency inducing either slow eye movements (4.