Published online Feb 28, 2013. doi: 10.5319/wjo.v3.i1.22
Revised: January 16, 2013
Accepted: February 2, 2013
Published online: February 28, 2013
Aimed to test the hypothesis that endolymphatic hydrops in Meniere’s disease (MD) may be secondary to otitis media, history of a patient who developed MD as a complication of otitis media was reviewed. The inner ear was imaged using a 3.0 Tesla MR system post-intravenous injection of gadolinium-tetraazacyclododecane-tetraacetic acid (Gd-DOTA) in a standard single dosage (0.1 mmol/kg). Both t2-spc-rst-tra-iso (T2-weighted) and heavily T2-weighted 3-dimensional fluid-attenuated inversion recovery magnetic resonance imaging [hT(2)W-3D-FLAIR] sequences were applied. As a result, in the T2-weighted images, the perilymph and endolymph, cerebrospinal fluid surrounding the eighth nerve (N8), and middle ear granulation tissue showed intense signals. In the hT(2)W-3D-FLAIR images, evident enhancement by Gd-DOTA was observed in the middle ear cavity and the perilymphatic compartments of the cochlea. Cochlear endolymphatic hydrops was implicated by the enlarged scala media in the basal turn. In general, the Gd-DOTA uptake in the vestibule was weak, and signs of vestibular endolymphatic hydrops were obvious. The N8 on the diseased side was also significantly enhanced. To conclude, endolymphatic hydrops in MD may be induced by otitis media. Cochlear endolymphatic hydrops in MD secondary to otitis media may not follow the classical pattern.