Nystagmus in patients with lateral semicircular canal dysplasia

Dizziness is not a common symptom in the lateral semicircular canal (LSCC) dysplasia, and nystagmus findings has been rarely described in LSCC dysplasia.

To investigate the characteristics of spontaneous and positional nystagmus in patients with LSCC dysplasia.

Patterns of spontaneous and positional nystagmus of twelve patients with LSCC dysplasia, who visited our clinic with a chief complaint of dizziness, were investigated.

LSCC dysplasia was observed unilaterally in 4, and bilaterally in 8 patients. Non-rotatory dizziness with various onset times was the most common description of dizziness, and unilateral caloric weakness was observed in 82% of patients. Direction-fixed nystagmus, in which the direction of spontaneous nystagmus was same with that of positional nystagmus, was observed in 9 patients, and direction-changing positional nystagmus, in which the direction of nystagmus was changed from that of spontaneous nystagmus by positioning maneuvers, was observed in 3 patients, of whom down-beating or direction-changing spontaneous nystagmus was observed in one patient each.

While direction-fixed horizontal nystagmus is the most commonly observed type of nystagmus in LSCC dysplasia, atypical spontaneous nystagmus, such as down-beating nystagmus or direction-changing spontaneous nystagmus, may be observed in patients with bilateral LSCC dysplasia.