Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Ménière's Disease After Intravenous Administration of Gadolinium.

OBJECTIVES

A three-dimensional (3D) inversion-recovery (IR) sequence with real reconstruction (3D-real IR) sequence 4 hours after intravenous (IV) gadolinium injection has been used to visualize the endolymphatic hydrops (ELH) in Ménière's disease (MD). This study was designed to investigate the ELH characteristics in clinically diagnosed definite MD and to explore the pathology of MD with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

METHODS

One hundred fifty-four patients with definite MD were included in this study. All patients underwent the IV method. The grades of ELH were analyzed on each image, regions of interest of the cochlear perilymph and the cerebellum white matter were determined, and the signal intensity ratio of the former to the latter (CC ratio) on both sides in patients with unilateral MD was subsequently evaluated.

RESULTS

Endolymphatic hydrops was observed in 148 patients (96.1%) on the clinically affected side; the remaining 6 patients (3.9%) had no apparent ELH. One hundred fifteen patients (74.7%) had unilateral ELH, and 33 patients (21.4%) had bilateral ELH. Eighteen patients (11.7%) had ELH on the clinically silent side. Patients with moderate and significant grades of ELH in the vestibule and cochlea accounted for 88.3% and 90.3%, respectively. The CC ratio of the affected side (1.39 ± 0.37) was higher than that of the unaffected side (1.18 ± 0.29) ( P < .01) in 115 patients with unilateral MD.

CONCLUSIONS

Moderate and significant grades of ELH are common in MD; however, the proposed diagnostic criteria are not fully consistent with ELH. The elevated contrast effect in the affected side in patients with unilateral MD may better reflect the pathologic condition of MD.