Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Daegu, Korea
Copyright © 2016 by The Korean Balance Society. All rights reserved.
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| Feature | Central | Peripheral |
|---|---|---|
| Severe nausea | + | +++ |
| Worse with nonspecific head movement | ++ | - |
| Evoked only by specific head movement | - | +++ |
| Paroxysmal upbeat and torsional nystagmus with Dix-Hallpike maneuver | - | +++ |
| Paroxysmal downbeat nystagmus with Dix-Hallpike maneuver | ++ | + |
| Paroxysmal horizontal direction-changing nystagmus (geotropic or apogeotropic) evoked by supine head turning | + | ++ |
| Persistent downbeat nystagmus in any position | +++ | - |
| Nystagmus diminishes (fatigues) with repeat positioning | - | +++ |
| Nystagmus resolves following positional treatment maneuver | - | +++ |
| Etiology of positional vertigo |
|---|
| Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo |
| Alcohol |
| “Light” cupula |
| Head trauma |
| Fistula |
| Ménière’s syndrome |
| Congenital anomalies (enlarged vestibular aqueduct) |
| Acoustic neuromas |
| Cochlear implants |
| Sudden sensorineural hearing loss |
| Giant cell arteritis |
| Human immunodeficiency virus |
| Central causes |
| - Cerebellar infarcts or hemorrhages |
| - Cerebellar tumors |
| - Cerebellar degenerations |
| - Multiple sclerosis |
| - Migraine |
| - Brainstem ischemia |
| Chiari malformation and other cranio-cervical anomalies |
| Paraneoplastic syndromes |
| Drugs |
| - Amiodorone |
| - Pregabalin |
| - Various ototoxic medications used for infections or cancer |
| Pharmacological treatment | Comments |
|---|---|
| Midodrine (2.5–10 mg 2 or 3 times per day) | Direct alpha1-adrenoreceptor agonist. |
| One of the few pharmacological agents positively tested in placebo-controlled studies, but its efficacy has often been questioned. | |
| Droxidopa (100–600 mg 3 times per day) | Norepinephrine precursor. Has been widely used off-label in severe OH. |
| Recently approved by the FDA. | |
| Pyridostigmine (30-60 mg 2 or 3 times per day) | Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. Generally recommended for neurogenic OH only. |
| BP increases marginally. Efficacy questioned. | |
| Fludrocortisone (0.05–0.3 mg daily) | Mineralocorticoid. Volume expander. |
| Increases sodium reabsorption and enhances sensitivity of alpha-adrenoreceptors. | |
| May worsen supine hypertension and hypokalemia. | |
| Ephedrine/pseudoephedrine (25/30–50/60 mg 3 times per day) | Direct and indirect alpha1-adrenoreceptor agonist. Efficacy controversial. |
| Desmopressin (nasal spray, 5–40 mg daily; oral formulation, 100–800 mg daily) | Vasopressin analogue. Volume expander. |
| Increases water reabsorption and reduces nocturia. Efficacy uncertain. |
OH, orthostatic hypotension; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; BP, blood pressure.