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M von Brevern

Publications and source records attributed to M von Brevern.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Epidemiology of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: a population based study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the prevalence and incidence, clinical presentation, societal impact and comorbid conditions of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) in the general population. METHODS: Cross-sectional, nationally representative neurotological survey of the general adult population in Germany with a two stage sampling design: screening of 4869 participants from the German National Telephone Health Interview Survey 2003 (response rate 52%) for moderate or severe dizziness or vertigo, followed by validated neurotological interviews (n = 1003; response rate 87%). Diagnostic criteria for BPPV were at least five attacks of vestibular vertigo lasting <1 min without concomitant neurological symptoms and invariably provoked by typical changes in head position. In a concurrent validation study (n = 61) conducted in two specialised dizziness clinics, BPPV was detected by our telephone interview with a specificity of 92% and a sensitivity of 88% (positive predictive value 88%, negative predictive value 92%). RESULTS: BPPV accounted for 8% of individuals with moderate or severe dizziness/vertigo. The lifetime prevalence of BPPV was 2.4%, the 1 year prevalence was 1.6% and the 1 year incidence was 0.6%. The median duration of an episode was 2 weeks. In 86% of affected individuals, BPPV led to medical consultation, interruption of daily activities or sick leave. In total, only 8% of affected participants received effective treatment. On multivariate analysis, age, migraine, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and stroke were independently associated with BPPV. CONCLUSION: BPPV is a common vestibular disorder leading to significant morbidity, psychosocial impact and medical costs.

Adult↗

Migrainous vertigo: prevalence and impact on quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the epidemiology of migrainous vertigo (MV) in the general population by assessing prevalence, clinical features, comorbid conditions, quality of life, and health care utilization. METHODS: We screened a representative sample of the adult population in Germany (n = 4,869) for moderate or severe dizziness/vertigo and followed up with validated neurotologic telephone interviews (n = 1,003). Diagnostic criteria for MV were as follows: 1) recurrent vestibular vertigo; 2) migraine according to the International Headache Society; 3) migrainous symptoms during at least two vertiginous attacks (migrainous headache, photophobia, phonophobia, or aura symptoms); and 4) vertigo not attributed to another disorder. In a concurrent validation study (n = 61) the interviews had a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 94% for vestibular vertigo and 81% and 100% for migraine. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of MV was 0.98% (95% CI 0.70 to 1.37), the 12-month prevalence 0.89% (95% CI 0.62 to 1.27). Spontaneous rotational vertigo was reported by 67% of participants with MV while 24% had positional vertigo. Twenty-four percent always experienced headaches with their vertigo. Logistic regression analysis comparing participants with MV with dizziness-free migraineurs showed an independent association with coronary heart disease but not with sex, age, migrainous aura, education, stroke, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, body mass index, or depression. Age-adjusted health-related quality of life scores (SF-8 Health Survey) were consistently lower in participants with MV compared to dizziness-free controls. Two thirds of participants with MV had consulted a doctor but only 20% of these were diagnosed with MV. CONCLUSIONS: Migrainous vertigo is relatively common but underdiagnosed in the general population and has considerable personal and healthcare impact.

Adult↗

Short-term efficacy of Epley's manoeuvre: a double-blind randomised trial.

BACKGROUND: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of the posterior canal (PC-BPPV) is a common vestibular disorder and can be easily treated with Epley's manoeuvre. Thus far, the short-term efficacy of Epley's manoeuvre for treatment of PC-BPPV is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy of Epley's manoeuvre for treatment of PC-BPPV 24 h after applying the manoeuvre. METHODS: The short-term efficacy of Epley's manoeuvre was compared with a sham procedure in 66 patients with PC-BPPV by using a double-blind randomised study design. RESULTS: 24 h after treatment, 28 of 35 (80%) patients in the Epley's manoeuvre group had neither vertigo nor nystagmus on positional testing compared with 3 of 31 (10%) patients in the sham group (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Epley's manoeuvre is shown to resolve PC-BPPV both effectively and rapidly.

Adult↗

Epidemiology of vestibular vertigo: a neurotologic survey of the general population.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence and incidence of vestibular vertigo in the general population and to describe its clinical characteristics and associated factors. METHODS: The neurotologic survey had a two-stage general population sampling design: nationwide modified random digit dialing sampling for participation in the German National Telephone Health Interview Survey 2003 (response rate 52%) with screening of a random sample of 4,869 participants for moderate or severe dizziness or vertigo, followed by detailed neurotologic interviews developed through piloting and validation (n = 1,003, response rate 87%). Diagnostic criteria for vestibular vertigo were rotational vertigo, positional vertigo, or recurrent dizziness with nausea and oscillopsia or imbalance. Vestibular vertigo was detected by our interview with a specificity of 94% and a sensitivity of 84[corrected]% in a concurrent validation study using neurotology clinic diagnoses as an accepted standard (n = 61). RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of vestibular vertigo was 7.4[corrected]%, the 1-year prevalence was 4.9[corrected]%, and the incidence was 1.4[corrected]%. In 80% of affected individuals, vertigo resulted in a medical consultation, interruption of daily activities, or sick leave. Female sex, age, lower educational level, and various comorbid conditions, including tinnitus, depression, and several cardiovascular diseases and risk factors, were associated with vestibular vertigo in the past year in univariate analysis. In multivariable analysis, only female sex, self-reported depression, tinnitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia had an independent effect on vestibular vertigo. CONCLUSIONS: Vestibular vertigo is common in the general population, affecting [corrected] 5% of adults in 1 year. The frequency and health care impact of vestibular symptoms at the population level have been underestimated.

Activities of Daily Living↗

[Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo].

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is the most common vestibular disorder, accounting for about 20% of referrals in specialized dizziness clinics. Nowadays, canalolithiasis of the posterior semicircular canal has been widely accepted as the biological basis for typical benign paroxysmal positional vertigo as it is compatible with all clinical features of the disorder. Better understanding of its pathophysiological concepts has led to specific therapeutic strategies, which aim to clear the affected semicircular canal from mobile particles. After a single maneuver both Epley's and Semont's procedures lead to complete recovery in about 60% of patients and in nearly 100% when performed repeatedly. These positioning maneuvers have made benign paroxysmal positional vertigo the most successfully treatable cause of vertigo.

Humans↗

Self-treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo: Semont maneuver vs Epley procedure.

The authors compared the efficacy of a self-applied modified Semont maneuver (MSM) with self-treatment with a modified Epley procedure (MEP) in 70 patients with posterior canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. The response rate after 1 week, defined as absence of positional vertigo and torsional/upbeating nystagmus on positional testing, was 95% in the MEP group (n = 37) vs 58% in the MSM group (n = 33; p < 0.001). Treatment failure was related to incorrect performance of the maneuver in the MSM group, whereas treatment-related side effects did not differ significantly between the groups.

Adult↗

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo predominantly affects the right labyrinth.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) occurs when there are freely moving particles in a semicircular canal and the head is turned in the plane of the affected canal. The aim of the present study was to clarify whether BPPV manifests equally in both labyrinths or whether there is a preponderance for one side. We conducted a PubMed literature search of BPPV case series which specified the affected side and a retrospective chart review of 80 consecutive patients with BPPV of the posterior canal who had presented at our dizziness clinic. Eighteen studies with a total of 3426 patients were identified. In our own series the right side was affected in 54 of 80 patients (right/left ratio 2.08). Altogether, in 3506 patients the right labyrinth was involved 1.41 times more often than the left (95% CI 1.37 to 1.45). We think that the reason for the predominant involvement of the right ear in BPPV is the habit-of most patients-of sleeping on the right side.

Ear, Inner↗

[Medical management of patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo].

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common vestibular disorder which can be simply diagnosed. The evolution of highly effective positioning maneuvers has made BPPV the most successfully treatable cause of vertigo. We evaluated patients with BPPV with regard to past medical history and disease-related diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Forty-two patients were recruited from a specialised dizziness clinic, and a further 29 patients were recruited from a neurological practice. The mean duration of the disease was 3.2 years, with an average of 2.4 episodes lasting typically several weeks to months. More than half of the patients felt severely disabled by BPPV. On average, three different medical specialities were consulted. Cerebral imaging (42%), caloric testing (46%), and audiometry (49%) were performed more often than diagnostic positioning (28%). Most patients received ineffective or no therapy, and only 4% were treated with a specific therapeutic positioning maneuver. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is a long-lasting and frequently recurrent disease which leads to significant morbidity and medical costs. The recent progress in the diagnosis and therapy of BPPV has not yet been widely established in medical practice in Germany.

Adult↗

Continuous vertigo and spontaneous nystagmus due to canalolithiasis of the horizontal canal.

The authors present a patient with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of the right horizontal semicircular canal who developed persistent vertigo with spontaneous horizontal nystagmus to the left and caloric hypoexcitability on the right after a head shaking maneuver. Both spontaneous nystagmus and canal paresis resolved after repeated shaking of the head. The most probable mechanism of this type of vertigo is plugging of the horizontal canal by otoconial particles with a negative endolymph pressure between plug and cupula.

Adult↗

The interrelations of migraine, vertigo, and migrainous vertigo.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence of migrainous vertigo in patients with migraine and in patients with vertigo according to explicit diagnostic criteria that are presented for discussion. METHODS: The authors prospectively evaluated 200 consecutive patients from a dizziness clinic and 200 patients from a migraine clinic for migrainous vertigo based on the following criteria: 1) recurrent vestibular symptoms (rotatory/positional vertigo, other illusory self or object motion, head motion intolerance); 2) migraine according to the criteria of the International Headache Society (IHS); 3) at least one of the following migrainous symptoms during at least two vertiginous attacks: migrainous headache, photophobia, phonophobia, visual or other auras; and 4) other causes ruled out by appropriate investigations. In addition, the authors compared the prevalence of migraine according to the IHS criteria in the dizziness clinic group with a sex- and age-matched control group of 200 orthopedic patients. RESULTS: The prevalence of migraine according to the IHS criteria was higher in the dizziness clinic group (38%) compared with the age- and sex-matched control group (24%, p < 0.01). The prevalence of migrainous vertigo was 7% in the dizziness clinic group, and 9% in the migraine clinic group. In 15 of 33 patients with migrainous vertigo, vertigo was regularly associated with migrainous headache. In 16 patients, vertigo occurred both with and without headache, and in two patients headache and vertigo never occurred together. The duration of attacks varied from minutes to days. CONCLUSION: These results substantiate the epidemiologic association between migraine and vertigo and indicate that migrainous vertigo affects a significant proportion of patients both in dizziness and headache clinics.

Adult↗

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo has been recognized as the most common vestibular disorder. The evolution of its pathophysiological concepts has led to current therapeutic strategies that have made it the most successfully treatable cause of vertigo.

History, 20th Century↗

A modified Epley's procedure for self-treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

We compared the efficacy of a modified Epley's procedure (MEP) and Brandt-Daroff exercises (BDE) for self-treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of the posterior semicircular canal (PC-BPPV) in 54 patients. PC-BPPV resolved within 1 week in 18 of 28 patients (64%) using the MEP and in 6 of 26 patients (23%) performing BDE (p<0.01). Type and adequate performance of the maneuver predicted treatment outcome in the multivariate analysis. The frequency of side effects was not significantly different between the two groups. The MEP is more suitable for self-treatment of PC-BPPV than conventional BDE.

Humans↗

Loss of heterozygosity in sporadic oesophageal tumors in the tylosis oesophageal cancer (TOC) gene region of chromosome 17q.

From the genotyping of UK and US tylotic families with a high risk of oesophageal cancer we have previously localized the tylosis-associated cancer susceptibility gene (TOC gene, tylosis oesophageal cancer gene) to a 1 cM region on the long arm of chromosome 17 (Kelsell et al., 1996). In the present study we investigated loss of heterozygosity (LOH) patterns of 35 sporadic squamous cell carcinomas of the oesophagus using six polymorphic microsatellite markers encompassing this locus. Twenty-four of the 35 cases (69%) revealed LOH at one or more loci. Deletion was most frequently observed with the marker D17S801 (64% LOH, informative cases), which shows significant linkage to the TOC locus. The LOH analysis in sporadic oesophageal cancer we report here is thus consistent with the hypothesis that the tylosis oesophageal cancer susceptibility gene is also involved in the pathogenesis of a proportion of sporadic squamous cell carcinomas of the oesophagus.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗

Constitutive expression of interleukin (IL)-4 in vivo causes autoimmune-type disorders in mice.

The transgenic (tg) expression of interleukin (IL)-4 under the control of a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I promoter leads to B cell hyperactivity in mice, characterized by increased B cell surface MHC class II and CD23 expression, elevated responsiveness of the B cells to polyclonal ex vivo stimulation, and increased immunoglobulin (Ig)G1 and IgE serum levels. Tg mice develop anemia, glomerulonephritis with complement and immune deposition in the glomeruli, and show increased production of autoantibodies. Treatment of IL-4 tg mice with anti-IL-4 neutralizing antibodies protected the mice from disease development, showing that IL-4 was responsible for the observed disorders. Deletion of superantigen responsive autoreactive T cells in the IL-4 tg mice was normal and treatment of mutant mice with deleting anti-CD4 antibodies failed to ablate the onset of autoimmune-like disease, suggesting that CD4+ T cells were not the primary cause of the disorders. Furthermore, the deletion of B cells reacting against MHC class I molecules was also normal in the IL-4 tg mice. Therefore the most likely explanation for the increased production of autoantibodies and the autoimmunelike disorders is that IL-4 acts directly on autoreactive B cells by expanding them in a polyclonal manner. Taken together our results show that inappropriate multi-organ expression of IL-4 in vivo leads to autoimmune-type disease in mice.

Animals↗

Selective vestibular damage in neurosarcoidosis.

We report a patient with neurosarcoidosis who developed bilateral benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) of the posterior canals, deafness, and absent responses to conventional caloric and rotational vestibular testing. Additional rotation in the planes of the vertical semicircular canals revealed relative sparing of vertical canal function. This vertical-horizontal canal dissociation explains the presence of BPPV and suggests that the vestibular damage in this patient is secondary to a vasculitic neuropathy.

Adult↗