Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency and menière's disease: Interventional versus medical therapy

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS To evaluate the incidence of chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency in Meniere's disease patients and the effect of bilateral percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the jugular/azygos veins compared to medical therapy. STUDY DESIGN Prospective case-control study. METHODS Five hundred fourteen subjects were included in the study, 412 affected by definite Meniere's disease, and 102 healthy controls. All patients underwent audiovestibular and vascular examination. Patients with Meniere's disease and concomitant cerebrospinal venous insufficiency were divided in two subgroups: patients who underwent vascular intervention with bilateral percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) of the jugular/azygos veins and patients treated with medical therapy. RESULTS Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency was diagnosed in 330/412 (80.1%) Meniere's disease patients and in 12/102 healthy individuals (11.8%) (P