2020 Volume 79 Issue 3 Pages 127-133
The most important histopathological finding in patients with Ménière's Disease (MD) is endolymphatic hydrops (EH). In 1938, Hallpike in London first reported EH in the temporal bones of two cases of MD. In the same year, Yamakawa of Osaka independently discovered EH in the temporal bone specimen of his colleague who suffered from MD. In 2007, Naganawa and Nakashima of Nagoya were the first to visualize EH in patients with MD in MR images obtained using Siemens 3T MRI with a 32ch head coil after intratympanic administration of 1/8-diluted gadolinium (Gd). In 2010, EH imaging was successfully accomplished after intravenous administration of a standard dose of Gd.
In the chronic course of MD, the vertiginous episodes improve, but both the vestibular and hearing functions deteriorate. However, the details of how EH behaves in this process remains unclear, and in this short review, the author describes the details of how EH behaves during this process. Furthermore, the author also describes delayed endolymphatic hydrops (DEH), which is a secondary form of EH, and other related current findings.
