Possibility of Epithelial Sodium Channelopathy as a Pathogenesis of Meniere's Disease

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Meniere's disease is a paroxysmal disorder with vertigo and hearing loss. Its episodic nature of vertigo attacks and responsiveness to diuretics is similar to several neurologic disorders with channelopathy. We performed this study to identify the possibility sodium channelopathy in the patients with Meniere's disease. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Thirty patients with definite Meniere's disease and 25 normal controls were included in this study. Clinical features of the patients with Meniere's disease were collected using dizziness chart. Whole blood was taken from all the patients with Meniere's disease and normal controls and used for DNA testing. alphaENaC gene was screened for mutations using direct DNA sequencing. RESULTS: Patients with Meniere's disease in this study showed the various clinical features of onset age, number of attacks and hearing levels. Many of them showed the caloric response reduction and abnormal electrocochleogram. Genetic analysis did not identify any mutations or differences in alphaENaC gene in normal controls and the patients with Meniere's disease. CONCLUSION: Na channelopathy due to alphaENaC gene mutation might not be a pathogenesis of Meniere's disease. Further studies with other subunits of ENaC and other ion channel genes are needed to explore the possibility of channelopathy as a pathogenesis of Meniere's disease.