Vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials in "vestibular migraine" and Menière's disease: a sign of an electrophysiological link?

Characterizations of the signs and symptoms of "vestibular migraine" and of Menière's disease seem to overlap, suggesting that both diseases might be due to a common peripheral vestibular dysfunction. Thus, the aim of the present study was to assess vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) in both disorders to determine whether there might be an electrophysiological link between the two disorders. The amplitude and latency of VEMPs were measured from the sternocleidomastoid muscle in 63 patients with vestibular migraine (median age 47 years, range 24-70 years) and in 16 patients with Menière's disease (median age 52 years, range 36-72 years), and compared with those of 63 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (median age 46 years, range 17-73 years). In comparison to the controls, 43 of the 63 patients with vestibular migraine (68%) and 11 patients with Menière's disease (69%) had reduced electromyography -corrected VEMP amplitudes, whereas no difference was seen in the latencies. Thus, these data provide evidence that the saccule may be affected in both disorders, indicating a possibly related labyrinthine cause for the pathogenesis of vestibular migraine and Menière's disease.