Relationship of vestibular aqueduct and inner ear pressure in Meniere's disease and the normal population

Objective: Etiopathogenesis of Meniere's disease has not been resolved. The principal histopathologic finding in this disease is endolymphatic hydrops . The majority of radiologic and histopathologic studies demonstrated a nar row vestibular aqueduct in Meniere's disease. There is no study in the lite rature investigating the relationship between inner ear pressure and vestib ular aqueduct dimensions. Static acoustic compliance is a noninvasive proce dure that is thought to measure perilymphatic pressure at the footplate. An increase in mechanical fluid pressure in the inner ear is transmitted to t he footplate of the stapes. This causes a reduction in the compliance at th e drum. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between ve stibular aqueduct dimensions and static acoustic compliance in Meniere's di sease and the normal population. Study Design: Prospective study. Methods: Forty patients with Meniere's disease and 40 healthy individuals with no ot olaryngologic disorders were the subjects of this study. Each group was fur ther divided into two according to static compliance value (normal and low static compliance). In these four groups dimensions of vestibular aqueduct were determined radiologically by high-resolution computerized tomography a nd correlated with normal and low static acoustic compliance values (normal and high perilymphatic pressure). Results. The results demonstrated that v estibular aqueduct is narrower in patients with Meniere's disease than the normal population. However, there is no relationship between vestibular aqu educt dimensions and inner ear pressure obtained by static acoustic complia nce measurements.