Effects of triple semicircular canal plugging on hearing in patients with Meniere's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS one INTRODUCTION:Triple semicircular canal plugging is effective in controlling vertigo in patients with Meniere's disease, however, whether the rate of causing hearing loss during treatment is still not uniform. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Triple semicircular canal plugging (TSCP) on hearing in Meniere's disease (MD) patients. METHODS:Databases Reviewed were PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Clinical Trials, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP. The study reported on the duration, follow-up time, hearing loss, and vertigo control outcomes in MD patients evaluated by TSCP. Stata 17 software was used for data analysis and assessing the risk of bias. RESULTS:This meta-analysis included 367 MD patients from 7 studies. TSCP efficiently alleviated vertigo with a rate of 99% (95% CI: 0.97, 1.00) and had a hearing loss rate of 22% (95% CI: 0.16, 0.28). Subgroup analysis revealed that for hearing loss, the proportion of patients with disease duration more than or less than 12 months was 14% (95% CI: 0.05, 0.26) and 24% (95% CI: 0.19, 0.29), respectively. For vertigo control, the rates were 100% (95% CI: 0.96, 1.00) and 99% (95% CI: 0.97, 1.00), respectively. For hearing loss, the follow-up time of MD patients more than or less than 24 months was 20% (95% CI: 0.07, 0.38) and 23% (95% CI: 0.18, 0.29), respectively. For vertigo control, the rates were 99% (95% CI: 0.95, 1.00) and 99% (95% CI: 0.97, 1.00), respectively. The duration of the disease and follow-up time had no significant impact on hearing loss and vertigo control rates. CONCLUSIONS:TSCP was efficient for vertigo control but with a risk of hearing loss. It could be used as a surgical method for hearing preservation in advanced MD patients. 10.1371/journal.pone.0314348

Epidemiology and genetics of Meniere's disease. Current opinion in neurology PURPOSE OF REVIEW:This review discusses the recent developments on the understanding of epidemiology and genetics of Meniere's disease. RECENT FINDINGS:Meniere's disease has been shown to be associated with several comorbidities, such as migraine, anxiety, allergy and immune disorders. Recent studies have investigated the relationship between environmental factors and Meniere's disease such as air pollution, allergy, asthma, osteoporosis or atmospheric pressure, reporting specific comorbidities in East Asian population. The application of exome sequencing has enabled the identification of genes sharing rare missense variants in multiple families with Meniere's disease, including OTOG and TECTA and suggesting digenic inheritance in MYO7A . Moreover, knockdown of DTNA gene orthologue in Drosophila resulted in defective proprioception and auditory function. DTNA and FAM136A knockout mice have been studied as potential mouse models for Meniere's disease. SUMMARY:While it has attracted emerging attention in recent years, the study of Meniere's disease genetics is still at its early stage. More geographically and ethnically based human genome studies, and the development of cellular and animal models of Meniere's disease may help shed light on the molecular mechanisms of Meniere's disease and provide the potential for gene-specific therapies. 10.1097/WCO.0000000000001227

Semicircular canal and vestibular plugging in patients with Meniere's disease: a preliminary study. Acta oto-laryngologica BACKGROUND:Therapeutic options are limited for patients with intractable Meniere's disease who present with recurrent episodes of vertigo and drop attacks. AIMS/OBJECTIVES:To investigate the effectiveness and safety of simultaneous semicircular canal plugging and vestibular plugging in the treatment of Meniere's disease with drop attacks. MATERIAL AND METHODS:This was a single-center study with a 6-month post-operative follow-up. It included five patients with intractable Meniere's disease who presented with recurrent vertigo and drop attacks. All patients underwent surgery of semicircular canal plugging and vestibular plugging. The main outcome measures were vertigo control, drop attack control, hearing, and vestibular function; they were evaluated pre- and post-operatively. RESULTS:Of the five patients, none had a recurrence of drop attacks; four had no recurrence of vertigo, and one patient had one episode of vertigo. Two patients had residual hearing before surgery, which was preserved postoperatively. All patients showed altered results in vestibular tests. CONCLUSIONS:Semicircular canal plugging and vestibular plugging appear to be an effective treatment for intractable Meniere's disease presenting with recurrent vertigo and drop attacks. More studies are needed to confirm these results. SIGNIFICANCE:This novel surgical procedure can control vestibular symptoms of Meniere's disease while hopefully preserving the hearing function. 10.1080/00016489.2024.2405004

Development and Initial Validation of a Meniere's Disease Quality of Life Instrument: The MenQOL. The Laryngoscope OBJECTIVE:To design and validate a disease-specific quality of life instrument for Meniere's disease. METHODS:We used a sequential process of expert input, patient focus groups, and analyses of responses to draft questionnaires to create a 24-item Meniere's disease quality of life (MenQOL) instrument. The MenQOL and the SF-36v2 were administered to a cohort of 50 patients with Meniere's disease and 60 comparison patients with tinnitus, vertigo, or hearing loss from other causes identified at a tertiary academic center. We performed exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's α, between group comparisons of total MenQOL scores, and regression analyses between the MenQOL and SF-36v2 to evaluate the instrument's factor structure, internal consistency, face validity, and external validity. Segregation of the instrument into domains was assessed by exploratory factor analysis. RESULTS:Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the MenQOL has a single domain. Cronbach's α = 0.914 indicated high internal consistency for the instrument as a whole. Mean MenQOL scores showing significantly worse quality of life among patients with Meniere's disease than comparison participants (52.5 ± 15.8 vs. 43.2 ± 12.6; p = 0.0051), indicating good construct validity. Significant inverse relationships in bivariate linear regressions between total MenQOL scores and SF-36v2 physical (slope = -0.94, p < 0.0001) and mental (slope = -1.16, p < 0.0001) composite scores showed acceptable concurrent validity. CONCLUSIONS:We have described the initial development of the MenQOL, a simple, valid patient-reported outcome measure that, subject to further study, may be used to assess the effects of treatment on disease-specific quality of life in patients with Meniere's disease. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:3 Laryngoscope, 134:4351-4357, 2024. 10.1002/lary.31478