Dynamic platform sway measurement in Menière's disease

Fourteen patients in the latent phase of Menière's disease and 14 control subjects were tested on a moving platform apparatus as part of a protocol of investigations for Menière's disease. Subjects were tested under 3 different visual conditions (eyes open, eyes closed, sway feedback) and 2 proprioceptive conditions (fixed platform and ankle stabilization). There was a significant interaction between subject group and visual condition, Menière's patients had a larger RMS sway amplitude than controls with their eyes open and closed, but this difference was abolished by sway feedback. Loss of either visual or proprioceptive sensory information increased sway amplitude, indicating that both cues influence postural control, and in different ways, but patients were able to use these cues to maintain upright posture almost as effectively as controls. More patients than controls lost balance with ankles stabilized and eyes closed, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.0516). There was no detectable relationship between clinical ratings of disease severity and sway scores. The dynamic platform tests described in this report are more suitable for tests involving comparisons between groups of subjects rather than for diagnostic testing of individuals.