Actress Kristin Chenoweth Suffers from Meniere's Disease

Kristin Chenoweth is an accomplished actress both on TV and live on Broadway having performed in Wicked as Glinda as well as appearances in TV shows Glee and Pushing Daisies.

She also suffers from Meniere's Disease which was diagnosed in 2007.

As such, she is prone to dizzy attacks which may have contributed to well-known falls during performances over the years.

• 2003: Fell off the stage during rehearsals for Wicked
• 2006: Fell off the stage during Broadway revival of The Apple Tree
• 2011: Fell down the stairs during injuring her back on the set of Glee.

And those are just the falls we know about.

Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear which leads to spinning dizzy attacks without any specific trigger. The dizzy spinning typically lasts several hours and is often preceded by tinnitus, aural pressure, and a hearing decrease on just the affected ear.

Fluctuating hearing loss is not uncommon as well.

Diagnosis is not straightforward and is usually obtained by history alone, but supporting tests include ENG (electronystagmography), VEMP (vestibular evoked myogenic potentials), ECoG (electrocochleography), ABR (auditory brainstem response), MRI scan, etc.

Once diagnosis of Meniere's disease is made, treatment occurs in stages:

Stage 1: Eliminate all salt (less than 1000mg of sodium per day), caffeine (no coffee, tea, decaffeinated, sodas, chocolate, etc), and alcohol from the diet.

Stage 2: If stage 1 does not help, addition of a diuretic pill like maxzide.

Stage 3: Invasive procedures which include endolymphatic shunt operation or vestibulectomy using intratympanic gentamyin injection into the ear or surgical lysis.

Flare-ups are treated symptomatically with phenergan and if needed, steroids whether oral or injection into the ear.

MRI Scans CAN Cause Vertigo

Researchers at Johns Hopkins published a study that reports that MRI scans CAN cause feelings of dizziness induced by magnetic fields causing motion of the electrically charged fluid of the inner ear.

In both ears, there is a "gyroscope" called the labyrinth. Whenever the head turns or a force like gravity is exerted on this system, fluid moves within which tells the brain that motion has occurred. It's much like looking into a glass of water and based on the way the water tilts in the glass, you can guess which way motion is occurring.

In any case, the study took two groups of people, one with an intact labyrinth system and another without a functioning labyrinth system. Only those individuals with an intact labyrinth system suffered vertigo while getting an MRI. Furthermore, the stronger the MRI's magnetic field, the worse the vertigo.

Beyond the "that's interesting" trivia, these results are VERY important in any type of brain activity research. Why? Well, if a person is feeling dizzy, the brain activity you may be studying using the MRI may be attributable to the dizziness itself and the patient's coping mechanisms to deal with it rather than whatever brain activity research you may be investigating.

On a more science-fiction note, based on these findings, an MRI can theoretically be used to potentially diagnose and treat dizziness due to the inner ear. After all, if it can cause dizziness, it certainly can be used to help it as well!

Reference:
MRI Magnetic Field Stimulates Rotational Sensors of the Brain. Current Biology, 22 September 2011. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.08.029

A New Treatment for Meniere's Disease!

I read with interest an MSNBC article that describes a brand new surgical treatment for Meniere's Disease, a debilitating disorder in which a patient suffers spinning attacks that last for hours to days. The treatment is an electrical device surgically implanted into the vestibular system of the ear, much like a cochlear implant for deaf individuals.

The device, called "UW/Nucleus Vestibular Implant," is surgically installed behind the affected ear with a small wire threaded into the labyrinth system.

In a rough manner of speaking, this new device restores balance by sending electrical impulses to electrodes implanted in the bony ear, disrupting a vertigo attack when it occurs. Consider it like a defibrillator for patients prone to ventricular tachycardia.

It does NOT cure Meniere's... it just allows a vertigo attack to be quickly aborted before it gets bad.

It is currently undergoing clinical trials at the University of Washington under direction of Dr. Jay Rubinstein and Dr. James Phillips.

Read more about this innovative treatment on MSNBC here.