Biomedical subjects

Agnes Szirmai

Publications and source records attributed to Agnes Szirmai.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Cochleovestibular dysfunction caused by cerebrovascular diseases.

When a vascular disorder of the cochleovestibular system is considered, the diagnosis is based on exclusion of other diseases. As arteries of the cochleovestibular system cannot be directly visualized, physicians must deduce vascular cochleovestibular disease from the vascular risk factors and vascular lesions of other territories. With my colleagues at Semmelweis University, I analyzed neurootological and audiological examination results in 65 patients with vascular vertigo. Cochleovestibular system disorders can be considered to be of vascular origin if the examinations exclude other diseases, if the patients have vascular risk factors, and if other territories of the brain accessible for imaging methods show vascular disorders.

Carotid Artery, Internal↗

PubMed2005

Panic disorder in otoneurological experience.

The evaluation of cochleovestibular dysfunction in psychiatric patients often causes a difficult problem in neurootological experience. The authors discuss here the neurobiological basis of panic disorders and cochleovestibular dysfunction. In this multicenter study, we examined 63 patients with vertigo and panic disease. Twenty patients with primary panic disease and consecutive vertigo composed group 1, whereas group 2 comprised 43 vertiginous patients with secondary panic disease. The most interesting question is whether the patients have an organic vestibular lesion, which would explain why vertigo alone is the problematic symptom in these panic patients, whereas in other patients, panic disease can cause other severe symptoms that resemble heart attack, dyspnea, or abdominal crisis. Vertigo has a bidirectional connection with psychiatric disorders. The panic disorder can be superimposed on chronic vertigo, and psychiatric patients with a cochleovestibular lesion have diminished chances for complete recovery. The examination of psychiatric patients with vertigo is very time consuming and requires much more empathy than does examination of vertiginous patients with a normal mental state. Anxiety provokes somatic and behavioral symptoms in most such patients. The treatment of vertigo in panic patients and of the panic disorder in vertiginous patients requires cooperation between neurootologist and psychiatrist.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

How does cochlear implantation affect the contralateral vestibular system?

Cochlear implantation has been performed for 16 years by investigators at Semmelweis University. During this period, different types of cochlear implants have been used and, in 30% of cases, hearing was observed to be restored in the nonimplanted ear. In addition to contralateral hearing improvement, significant improvement was observed in the caloric responsiveness of the nonoperated labyrinth. The preoperative median value of the average slow-phase velocity of the caloric test increased, and the increase was statistically significant on the contralateral side. The reason for this caloric response improvement is unclear, although possible explanations are brain plasticity or presently obscure trophic influence on the vestibular system. Whereas the role of brainstem function in the improvement of the contralateral ear's caloric response remains unclear it is also possible that hearing impulses affect the labyrinth. Clearly, the influence of cochlear implants on vestibular function requires further investigation to explain the improvement of contralateral vestibular responsiveness.

Adolescent↗