Lateral canal paroxysmal positional vertigo revisited. 2009

Daniele Nuti, and Marco Mandalà, and Lorenzo Salerni
Department of Orthopedics, Radiology and Otolaryngology, University of Siena, School of Medicine, Siena, Italy. nutid@unisi.it

The first reports of an involvement of the lateral canal (LC) in paroxysmal positional vertigo (PPV), were published in 1985, by Luciano Cipparrone et al., from Italy and Joseph McClure from Canada. The increasing interest of otolaryngologists and neurologists has led to a progressive advance in the knowledge of this labyrinthine disorder regarding its epidemiological, physiopathological, clinical, and therapeutic aspects. According to the most recent data, LC-benign PPV accounts for 17% of all PPV patients, regardless of gender and between the two labyrinths. The LC-PPV syndrome is characterized by intense positional vertigo and direction-changing geotropic horizontal nystagmus, both caused by rotation of the head in the supine position. Less frequently, it presents with apogeotropic nystagmus. In some patients nystagmus is also detectable in the sitting position, mimicking a spontaneous nystagmus. In most cases nystagmus is caused by displaced otoconia floating in the semicircular canal. The pathological side, which must be identified for successful treatment, is usually indicated by nystagmus intensity: the more intense positional nystagmus beats toward the affected ear. In a few cases, where there is no difference in nystgmus intensity, other indicators are necessary to determine the pathological side. Vestibular neuritis and posterior fossa lesions should be considered in the differential diagnosis. Treatment of LC-PPV relies on some physical maneuvers, the objective of which is to allow the otoconial debris to exit from the LC by centrifugal inertia and/or by gravitation.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D009759 Nystagmus, Pathologic Involuntary movements of the eye that are divided into two types, jerk and pendular. Jerk nystagmus has a slow phase in one direction followed by a corrective fast phase in the opposite direction, and is usually caused by central or peripheral vestibular dysfunction. Pendular nystagmus features oscillations that are of equal velocity in both directions and this condition is often associated with visual loss early in life. (Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p272) Convergence Nystagmus,Horizontal Nystagmus,Jerk Nystagmus,Pendular Nystagmus,Periodic Alternating Nystagmus,Rotary Nystagmus,See-Saw Nystagmus,Vertical Nystagmus,Conjugate Nystagmus,Dissociated Nystagmus,Fatigable Positional Nystagmus,Multidirectional Nystagmus,Non-Fatigable Positional Nystagmus,Permanent Nystagmus,Rebound Nystagmus,Retraction Nystagmus,Rotational Nystagmus,Spontaneous Ocular Nystagmus,Symptomatic Nystagmus,Temporary Nystagmus,Unidirectional Nystagmus,Non Fatigable Positional Nystagmus,Nystagmus, Conjugate,Nystagmus, Convergence,Nystagmus, Dissociated,Nystagmus, Fatigable Positional,Nystagmus, Horizontal,Nystagmus, Jerk,Nystagmus, Multidirectional,Nystagmus, Non-Fatigable Positional,Nystagmus, Pendular,Nystagmus, Periodic Alternating,Nystagmus, Permanent,Nystagmus, Rebound,Nystagmus, Retraction,Nystagmus, Rotary,Nystagmus, Rotational,Nystagmus, See-Saw,Nystagmus, Spontaneous Ocular,Nystagmus, Symptomatic,Nystagmus, Temporary,Nystagmus, Unidirectional,Nystagmus, Vertical,Ocular Nystagmus, Spontaneous,Pathologic Nystagmus,Positional Nystagmus, Non-Fatigable,See Saw Nystagmus
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014717 Vertigo An illusion of movement, either of the external world revolving around the individual or of the individual revolving in space. Vertigo may be associated with disorders of the inner ear (EAR, INNER); VESTIBULAR NERVE; BRAINSTEM; or CEREBRAL CORTEX. Lesions in the TEMPORAL LOBE and PARIETAL LOBE may be associated with FOCAL SEIZURES that may feature vertigo as an ictal manifestation. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp300-1) CNS Origin Vertigo,Central Nervous System Origin Vertigo,Positional Vertigo,Spinning Sensation,Vertigo, Brain Stem,Vertigo, Brainstem,Vertigo, Central Nervous System Origin,Vertigo, Central Origin,Vertigo, Constant,Vertigo, Essential,Vertigo, Intermittant,Vertigo, Paroxysmal,Vertigo, Peripheral,Vertigo, Subjective,Brain Stem Vertigo,Brain Stem Vertigos,Brainstem Vertigo,Brainstem Vertigos,CNS Origin Vertigos,Central Origin Vertigo,Central Origin Vertigos,Constant Vertigo,Constant Vertigos,Essential Vertigo,Essential Vertigos,Intermittant Vertigo,Intermittant Vertigos,Origin Vertigo, CNS,Origin Vertigo, Central,Origin Vertigos, CNS,Origin Vertigos, Central,Paroxysmal Vertigo,Paroxysmal Vertigos,Peripheral Vertigo,Peripheral Vertigos,Sensation, Spinning,Sensations, Spinning,Spinning Sensations,Subjective Vertigo,Subjective Vertigos,Vertigo, CNS Origin,Vertigo, Positional,Vertigos,Vertigos, Brain Stem,Vertigos, Brainstem,Vertigos, CNS Origin,Vertigos, Central Origin,Vertigos, Constant,Vertigos, Essential,Vertigos, Intermittant,Vertigos, Paroxysmal,Vertigos, Peripheral,Vertigos, Subjective
D019416 Head Movements Voluntary or involuntary motion of head that may be relative to or independent of body; includes animals and humans. Head Movement,Movement, Head,Movements, Head

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