Analysis of Posterior Circulation Vascularity in Vestibular Neuritis

Yoon, Geum Jin; Lee, Seung Han; Oh, Dong Seok; Nam, Tai Seung; Kim, Joon Tae; Choi, Seong Min; Park, Man Seok; Kim, Byeong Chae; Kim, Myeong Kyu; Cho, Ki Hyun

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Vestibular neuritis (VN) is one of the most common causes of acute vertigo. Viral infection is regarded to be the most common etiology of VN, but other various causes including labyrinthine ischemia have not yet been fully elucidated. We assumed that labyrinthine ischemia can develop from various disorders in the posterior circulation including vertebral artery hypoplasia and vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia.
METHODS
Fifty-six patients with acute VN and 56 healthy controls were enrolled. Two neurologists independently used magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to retrospectively investigate the posterior circulation in VN patients. The relation between the presence of VN and abnormalities of posterior circulation vascularity was analyzed.
RESULTS
MRA findings of vertebral artery hypoplasia and vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia were present in 15 (27%) and 14 (25%) of the VN patients. However, the frequencies of these findings did not differ significantly from those in the healthy controls (p=0.16).
CONCLUSIONS
The frequencies of vertebral artery hypoplasia and vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia did not differ significantly between VN patients and healthy subjects. We suggest that brain MRI and MRA are not essential in acute VN patients without central signs. Large prospective studies are needed to characterize the vascular etiology of vestibular neuritis.