Tests for Dysautonomia in Dizziness

Research in Vestibular Science > Volume 9(0); 2010 > Article

Research in Vestibular Science 2010;9(0): 103-110.

어지럼에서 자율신경기능부전의 검사방법

이태경, 박지윤, 성기범

순천향대학교 의과대학 부천병원 신경과, 어지럼센터

Tests for Dysautonomia in Dizziness

Tae-Kyeong Lee, MD, PhD, Ji-Yun Park, MD, Ki-Bum Sung, MD, PhD

Dizziness Center, Department of Neurology, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea

ABSTRACT

The influence of the vestibular system on autonomic responses is well known, as seeing that the autonomic symptoms such as pallor, nausea, and sweating are commonly observed during acute vestibular vertigo attacks. Thinking about the convergence of autonomic and vestibular afferents to the solitary nucleus and being integrated in reticular formation, it is taken to be granted that autonomic and vestibular systems are interacted each other. In this respect, several studies using the tests for the demonstration of the abnormalities in the autonomic nervous system have demonstrated the autonomic dysfunction in the wide range of vestibular disorders. The fluctuation of the blood pressure and the heart rate by head-up tilt test (HUTT) to show the cardiovascular challenges have been widely studied and showed significant results. At the same time, it has also been proposed that autonomic dysfunction can be the etiological background in some portion of the dizziness and vertigo. It is uncertain whether the autonomic dysfunction can directly cause the vertigo or the autonomic symptoms are simply caused by vestibular vertigo. However, by using the well-known, non-invasive, and simple autonomic tests, causative relationship of these two systems can be more validated. In this paper, methods for the autonomic function tests and the reported evidence demonstrating the relationship between autonomic derangement and vestibular disorders are reviewed.