Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Cryosectioning and Immunostaining Mouse Inner Ear Tissue: From Embryonic to Adult Stages
Published on: April 11, 2025
Association between type 1 diabetes mellitus and deposits in the semicircular canals
Shigetoshi Yoda1, Sebahattin Cureoglu, Muzeyyen Yildirim-Baylan
1Department of Otolaryngology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Objective:
To compare the prevalence of cupular and free-floating deposits in the semicircular canals between temporal bones of type 1 diabetes mellitus patients and normal controls.
Study Design:
Case-control histopathologic human temporal bone study.
Setting:
Otopathology laboratory in a tertiary academic medical center.
Subjects And Methods:
Twenty-eight temporal bones from 14 patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and 56 normal temporal bones from 28 age-matched individuals were histopathologically examined. The cupula and lumina of the semicircular canals were examined for evidence of deposits.
Results:
The prevalence of cupular and free-floating deposits in the lateral and posterior semicircular canals was significantly higher in type 1 diabetes mellitus patients compared with normal temporal bones (lateral, cupular deposits, odds ratio [OR], 5.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.43 to 21.02; free-floating deposits, OR, 8.25; 95% CI, 2.42 to 27.85; posterior, cupular deposits, OR, 41.73; 95% CI, 5.96 to 275.50; free-floating deposits, OR, 7.44; 95% CI, 1.91 to 28.53). The prevalence of these deposits was associated with the duration of disease rather than with aging.
Conclusion:
The findings suggest that type 1 diabetes mellitus is associated with cupular and free-floating deposits in the semicircular canals. The patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus with a longer duration of disease have an increased probability of suffering from benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.
Related Concept Videos
Type I Diabetes I: Introduction
Type I Diabetes II: Pathophysiology
Type I Diabetes III: Clinical Manifestations
Diabetes Mellitus: Overview and Type I Subtype
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin, and individuals with...
Equilibrium and Balance
Type II Diabetes I: Introduction
