[Histopathology of the vestibular nerve in Menière's disease]

Histological and morphometrical investigations of the vestibular nerve were performed on surgical specimens from 19 patients suffering from Ménière's disease and on 5 autopsy preparations from patients without inner ear disease. The number of lipofuscin granules and vacuoles in the ganglion cells of specimens from Ménière patients was not increased compared with control specimens of a similar age, nor did the amount of endoneuronal connective tissue in the vestibular nerve specimens differ between the two groups. The density of capillaries in Scarpa's ganglion and vestibular nerve was significantly increased in the Ménière patients compared with the control specimens. Furthermore, the ratio of nerve fibres with a larger diameter was higher in specimens from Ménière patients than in control preparations. There was no difference in the density of myelinated fibres between the two groups.