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Updated: Sep 9, 2025

Behavioral Assessment of Visual Function via Optomotor Response and Cognitive Function via Y-Maze in Diabetic Rats
Published on: October 23, 2020
The functioning of otolith organs in individuals with type-II diabetes mellitus
Prawin Kumar1, Niraj Kumar Singh1, Rajesh Kumar Raveendran1
1Department of Audiology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysuru 570006, India.
Aim:
Diabetes mellitus (DM), a systemic disease, is a major public health concern. It is possible that micro and macrovascular changes in the inner ear due to DM could affect both auditory and vestibular functioning. However, there is a lack of conclusive evidence for vestibular impairment in individuals with DM. The current study investigated the effects of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on the functioning of the vestibular system and its duration dependency.
Methods:
Eighty individuals in the age range of 40-70 years (40 with T2DM and 40 age-matched healthy controls) underwent cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) in response to 500 Hz tone-burst. They also underwent behavioral tests of posture and equilibrium.
Results:
Response rates and peak-to-peak amplitude of cVEMP and oVEMP were significantly lower in T2DM than in the healthy controls (p<0.05). Additionally, the asymmetry ratio on cVEMP was significantly higher in T2DM than in the control group (p<0.05). There was no significant correlation between the duration of T2DM, the abnormality in vestibular tests, and abnormalities in the behavioral tests for the posture and equilibrium (p>0.05).
Conclusions:
A relatively higher proportion of individuals with T2DM show otolith dysfunction than non-diabetic individuals.
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