Medical treatment of vestibular disorders.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

The lifelong prevalence of rotatory vertigo is 30%. Despite this high figure, patients with vertigo generally receive either inappropriate or inadequate treatment. However, the majority of vestibular disorders have a benign cause, take a favorable natural course, and respond positively to therapy.

OBJECTIVE:

This review puts special emphasis on the medical rather than the physical, operative, or psychotherapeutic treatments available.

METHODS:

A selected review of recent reports and studies on the medical treatment of peripheral and central vestibular disorders.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS:

In vestibular neuritis, recovery of the peripheral vestibular function can be improved by oral corticosteroids; in Menière's disease, there is first evidence that high-dose, long-term administration of betahistine reduces attack frequency; carbamazepine or oxcarbamazepine is the treatment of first choice in vestibular paroxysmia, a disorder mainly caused by neurovascular cross-compression; the potassium channel blocker aminopyridine provides a new therapeutic principle for treatment of downbeat nystagmus, upbeat nystagmus, and episodic ataxia type 2.

• Authors: Thomas Brandt, Andreas Zwergal, Michael Strupp
• Journal: Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy (Expert Opin Pharmacother) Vol. 10 Issue 10 Pg. 1537-48 (Jul 2009) ISSN: 1744-7666 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 19527184 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)

Chemical References

• Pharmaceutical Preparations
• Benzodiazepines

Topics

• Benzodiazepines (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Meniere Disease (drug therapy)
• Pharmaceutical Preparations
• Vertigo (etiology)
• Vestibular Diseases (drug therapy)
• Vestibular Neuronitis (drug therapy)