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MediFocus Guides Help Answer Key Questions about Meniere's Disease:
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What are the standard treatments for Meniere's Disease?
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What are your treatment options?
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Are there any promising new and effective treatments on the horizon?
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Where can you find the doctors, hospitals, and medical centers with specialized interest and expertise in Meniere's Disease?
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Which organizations and support groups can help you cope more effectively with Meniere's Disease?
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Medifocus Guidebook:
Meniere's Disease
Updated: July 14, 2008
103 Pages
- Comprehensive overview of
Meniere's Disease
- Explore your treatment options
- Learn about new developments
- Read medical journal abstracts
- Find doctors, hospitals, research centers
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Introduction
Meniere's Disease (MD or endolymphatic hydrops) is a disorder of the inner ear associated with a change in the volume of fluid inside a portion of the inner ear called the labyrinth, which includes the membranous labyrinth and the bony labryinth.
When the head moves, endolymph fluid in the membranous labyrinth shifts, telling nerve receptors to signal the brain about the body's motion. If the amount of endolymph increases, doctors believe, the membranous labyrinth can balloon or dilate. If it then ruptures, endolymph fluid can mix with perilymph fluid in the bony labyrinth, causing Meniere's symptoms. The underlying cause of Meniere's is still unknown, though many hypotheses have been advanced.
Symptoms include dizziness, nausea, vomiting, unsteadiness, a sense of fullness in the ear, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), headache, abdominal discomfort and hearing loss, which can increase if the disease progresses. These symptoms occur in three stages of severity, as the disease advances, and can happen with varying frequency, duration and intensity. Usually, attacks are sudden and may last several hours. The very first episode may last longer than 24 hours, but subsequent episodes do not. While children can get MD, it most commonly affects men and women between 20 and 50.
Diagnosis is difficult because other conditions present some of the same symptoms, so diagnostic testing is critical, including radiological studies.
Treatment focuses on managing vertigo, reducing the frequency of Meniere's attacks and, primarily, preserving hearing. Eliminating alcohol, coffee and salt may help make attacks less frequent and eliminating tobacco and stress may make them less severe. Medication can reduce symptoms, and several surgical options are also available.
The MediFocus Guidebook on Meniere's Disease contains information that is vital to anyone who has been diagnosed with this condition.
You will learn about the causes, risk factors, common signs and symptoms, medical tests that are used to establish the diagnosis, and standard treatments. You will also learn about the latest clinical advances in the management of Meniere's Disease as well as about the newest treatment options that are available.
The MediFocus Guidebook on Meniere's Disease will also inform you about important new, exciting research in the area of Meniere's Disease. You will also learn about the doctors, hospitals, and medical centers that are at the leading edge in conducting clinical research about Meniere's Disease.
Information about clinical trials, quality of life issues, a list of questions to ask your doctor, and a useful directory of organizations and support groups that can help patients with Meniere's Disease complete this valuable Guidebook.
You won't find this combination of information anywhere else. It is easily accessible right here. We invite you to preview the MediFocus Guidebook on Meniere's Disease so that you can decide if this comprehensive, trustworthy information may help you or someone you care about who has been diagnosed with Meniere's Disease.
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