Objectives Excitability o medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) in the brainstem can be affected by changes in the arterial blood pressure. Several animal studies have demonstrated that acute hypotension results in the alteration of multiunit activities and expression of cFos protein in the MVN. In the field of extracellular electrophysiological recording, tetrode technology and spike sorting algorithms can easily identify single unit activity from multiunit activities in the brain. However, detailed properties of electrophysiological changes in single unit of the MVN during acute hypotension have been unknown.
Methods Therefore, we applied tetrode techniques and electrophysiological characterization methods to know the effect of acute hypotension on single unit activities of the MVN of rats.
Results Twoor3typesofunitcouldbeclassifiedaccordingtothemorphologyofspikes and firing properties of neurons. Acute hypotension elicited 4 types of changes in spontaneous firing of single unit in the MVN. Most of these neurons showed excitatory responses for about within 1 minute after the induction of acute hypotension and then returned to the baseline activity 10 minutes after the injection of sodium nitroprusside. There was also gradual increase in spontaneous firing in some units. In contrast small proportion of units showed rapid reduction of firing rate just after acute hypotension. Conclusions: Therefore, application of tetrode technology and spike sorting algorithms is another method for the monitoring of electrical activity of vestibular nuclear during acute hypotension.
Orthostatic dizziness is a common type of dizziness. In general, orthostatic dizziness is provoked by standing or tilting, and subsided by supine position. The patient with orthostatic intolerance complains multiple symptoms such as dizziness, palpitation, lightheadness, fatigue and rarely syncope. Common orthostatic intolerance is orthostatic hypotension (classic, initial, transient, and delayed orthostatic hypotension) and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. Transcranial Doppler is a noninvasive technique that provides real-time measurement of cerebral blood flow velocity. It can be useful for understanding the relationship between orthostatic symptoms and cerebral autoregulatory function. The reciprocal causal relationship between vestibular and autonomic dysfunction should always be kept in mind.
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A Study on the Characteristics of Patients Treated for Dizziness with Jeoreongchajeonja-tang: A Retrospective Analysis of 63 Cases Nu-ri Jung, Ki-tae Kim, Seon-mi Shin, Heung Ko The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine.2019; 40(6): 1122. CrossRef
Pitfalls in the Diagnosis of Vertigo Hyun Ah Kim, Hyung Lee Journal of the Korean Neurological Association.2018; 36(4): 280. CrossRef
Objectives Fall is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among older adults. Falls result from many various causes, and dizziness is important risk for falls, especially in the elderly. Research on the relationship between chronic dizziness and falls in elderly people has been rarely performed and these were no studies that analyzed the risk of falls according to subtypes of chronic dizziness.
Methods We conducted a prospective study of the association between subtypes of chronic dizziness and falls in the elderly between 65 to 75 years. We divided dizzy patients into 5 groups according to the results of symptom, vestibular and autonomic function test. Falls and new events (acute dizziness or other medical conditions) were checked monthly by telephone or out patient department follow-up for 6 months.
Results Thirty-four patients were enrolled and all completed follow-up for 6 months. Nine patients classified as the falling groups and 34 patients as nonfalling group. Whereas the frequencies of orthostatic hypotension (n=6, 67%) and vestibular dysfunction (n=1, 11%) were higher in fall group, psychogenic dizziness (n=12, 35%), and vestibular migraine (n=3, 9%) were more frequent in nonfall group.
Conclusions The presence of dizziness in the elderly is a strong predictor of fall, especially orthostatic hypotension is an important predictor of fall. In order to lower the risk of falls in the elderly, an approach based on the cause of dizziness is needed.
Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a common feature of sympathetic autonomic dysfunction and can lead to lightheadedness, weakness, dizziness, and syncope. It is defined as decrease in systolic blood pressure of at least 20 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure of at least 10 mm Hg within 3 minutes of standing. OH is associated with an increased incidence of cerebrovascular disease, myocardial infarction, and mortality. Non-pharmacological treatments may alleviate OH-related symptoms; however, are not sufficient when used alone. Pharmacological treatment is essential in managing OH. In this review, we aimed to discuss non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatment options for OH.
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Classification of Chronic Dizziness in Elderly People and Relation with Falls Dong-Suk Yang, Da-Young Lee, Sun-Young Oh, Ji-Yun Park Research in Vestibular Science.2018; 17(1): 13. CrossRef
According to the Barany Society classification of vestibular symptoms, positional dizziness or vertigo is defined as dizziness or vertigo triggered by and occurring after a change of head position in space relative to gravity. Thus, positional dizziness or vertigo should be differentiated from orthostatic dizziness or vertigo, which is triggered by and occurs upon rising. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common positional vertigo and accompanied by a characteristic paroxysmal positional nystagmus. But a problem occasionally encountered in clinical practice is the presence of a positive history of BPPV with a negative diagnostic maneuver for positional nystagmus. Orthostatic hypotension may be dependent upon various neurogenic and non-neurogenic disorders and conditions. Combination of non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatment improve orthostatic tolerance.