The influence of age and vestibular disorders on gaze stabilization: a pilot study

The purpose of this study was to identify the sensitivity and specificity of a computerized gaze stabilization test (GST), to analyze if age affects vestibulo-ocular reflex function, and to assess differences of vestibulo-ocular reflex function between patients and control subjects.

Descriptive, cross sectional.

Tertiary medical center.

Fifty-seven subjects, including 20 young controls (20-40 yr), 21 elderly controls (60-80 yr), and 16 patients with vestibular disease (20-80 yr), were included.

Sensitivity and specificity characteristics of the GST, which records visual acuity during active head movement.

Identification of subjects with vestibular disease was maximized at an average downward velocity of less than 61 degrees per second and a likelihood ratio of 4.4 (sensitivity, 44%; specificity, 90%). Patients demonstrated significantly slower GST downward speeds than the control-young subjects. There were no differences in GST head velocities in either the pitch or yaw planes between young and older control subjects.

There were no differences in GST maximum velocities in healthy young and older adults. The GST maximum velocity differentiated between young control subjects and patients with vestibular disorders in the pitch plane.