Correlation of endolymphatic hydrops and perilymphatic enhancement with the clinical features of Ménière's disease

Abstract

Objectives: To use three-dimensional real inversion recovery (3D-real IR) MRI to investigate correlations between endolymphatic hydrops (EH) grades or the degree of perilymphatic enhancement (PE) and clinical features of Ménière's disease (MD), as previous findings have been inconsistent.

Methods: A total of 273 consecutive patients with definite unilateral MD were retrospectively enrolled from September 2020 to October 2021. All patients underwent 3D-real IR and 3D-T2WI 6 h after intravenous gadolinium injection. MD-related symptom duration and vertigo frequency were recorded. EH grades were evaluated, the signal intensity ratio (SIR) was measured, and correlations between clinical features and EH, PE were assessed respectively.

Results: The study included 123 males and 150 females, with a mean age of 53.0 years. A longer duration of vertigo was associated with higher cochlear EH grades, whereas the opposite was true for the duration of aural fullness. A longer time since vertigo onset was associated with higher vestibular EH grades; the opposite was true for the duration of individual vertigo attacks. The multiple regression analysis revealed that age, tinnitus duration, and vestibular EH were risk factors for SIR. Furthermore, the low-frequency hearing threshold (HT) was a risk factor for cochlear and vestibular EH, and the SIR.

Conclusion: The EH grade and SIR (an indicator for the quantitative evaluation of PE) were correlated with clinical features and HT of MD; thus, imaging can be a valuable tool in planning individualised treatment.

Clinical relevance statement: This study revealed that the grade of endolymphatic hydrops and degree of perilymphatic enhancement positively correlates with the length of time since onset of clinical symptoms and hearing thresholds in patients with Ménière's disease, facilitating the tailored treatment.

Key points: • Relationships between 3-dimensional real inversion recovery features and clinical symptoms in Ménière's disease are unknown. • Symptom duration and hearing thresholds correlated with endolymphatic hydrops grades and degree of perilymphatic enhancement. • MRI features correlate with MD severity; thus, imaging is valuable for planning tailored treatment.

Keywords: Endolymphatic hydrops; Magnetic resonance imaging; Ménière’s disease; Perilymph; Vertigo.