Endolymphatic hydrops and blood-labyrinth barrier in Meniere's disease

Conclusions: The blood-labyrinth barrier is impaired in association with the hydrops grade in Meniere's disease. Objectives: To investigate the relationship between endolymphatic hydrops and the clinical characteristics of patients with Meniere's disease revealed by 3 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Methods: A double dose of gadoteridol (Gd; 0.2 mmol/kg) was injected intravenously in 12 patients with Meniere's disease. We performed three-dimensional fluid attenuated inversion recovery MRI and three-dimensional real inversion recovery MRI 4 h later using a 3 T MRI unit. Ten patients had unilateral and two had bilateral Meniere's disease. Results: Fourteen ears with Meniere's disease showed intense Gd contrast on MRI compared with that in the 10 asymptomatic contralateral ears of patients with unilateral Meniere's disease (1.12 +/- 0.36 vs 0.82 +/- 0.15). The hydrops grade was correlated significantly with the contrast effect. The 14 ears with Meniere's disease had endolymphatic hydrops. Of the 10 contralateral ears of patients with unilateral Meniere's disease, 2 had endolymphatic hydrops in the cochlea and 6 had endolymphatic hydrops in the vestibule.