Submillimeter magnetic resonance imaging of the temporal bone in Meniere's disease

The pathoetiology of Meniere's disease remains elusive. Histopathologic and imaging studies have implicated congenital or developmental abnormality of the endolymphatic duct as a likely predisposing factor to the development of endolymphatic hydrops and clinical Meniere's disease. Recently, improved high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols have allowed better demonstration of the soft tissues of the endolymphatic duct and sac. This study is a prospective evaluation of the ability of submillimeter MRI to detect the endolymphatic duct in Meniere's disease patients and control subjects. In addition, the development of the temporal bone in the region of the endolymphatic sac and duct is evaluated by measurements of the distance from the posterior semicircular canal to the subarachnoid space and the distance from the vestibule to the subarachnoid space. Visualization of the endolymphatic duct was found to be significantly less frequent in the Meniere's disease patients (29%) than in the control subjects (91%). Temporal bone measurements in the region of the endolymphatic duct showed patients with Meniere's disease to have smaller dimensions than control subjects.