メニエール病 : 原著から今日まで (シリーズ教育講座「原著から今日まで : 代表的疾患の変遷」)

In 1861, Prosper Meniere reported pathological findings consisting of bloody exudate in the semicircular canals of a girl who had died after suffering from vertigo, tinnitus and deafness, suggesting that an inner ear lesion, in addition to cerebral accidents, could cause vertigo. In 1867, Politzer described a similar patient as having “Meniere’s disease.” In 1938, Yamakawa and Hallpike independently discovered the important pathological findings of endolymphatic hydrops in patients with Meniere’s disease. In 2007, Naganawa visualized endolymphatic hydrops in living patients with Meniere’s disease using Gd-enhanced MRI. The further development of MRI technology is expected to yield deeper insights into the pathophysiology of Meniere’s disease.