Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Daegu, Daegu, Korea
Copyright © 2016 by The Korean Balance Society. All rights reserved.
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Feature | Central | Peripheral |
---|---|---|
Severe nausea | + | +++ |
Worse with nonspecific head movement | ++ | - |
Evoked only by specific head movement | - | +++ |
Paroxysmal upbeat and torsional nystagmus with Dix-Hallpike maneuver | - | +++ |
Paroxysmal downbeat nystagmus with Dix-Hallpike maneuver | ++ | + |
Paroxysmal horizontal direction-changing nystagmus (geotropic or apogeotropic) evoked by supine head turning | + | ++ |
Persistent downbeat nystagmus in any position | +++ | - |
Nystagmus diminishes (fatigues) with repeat positioning | - | +++ |
Nystagmus resolves following positional treatment maneuver | - | +++ |
Etiology of positional vertigo |
---|
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo |
Alcohol |
“Light” cupula |
Head trauma |
Fistula |
Ménière’s syndrome |
Congenital anomalies (enlarged vestibular aqueduct) |
Acoustic neuromas |
Cochlear implants |
Sudden sensorineural hearing loss |
Giant cell arteritis |
Human immunodeficiency virus |
Central causes |
- Cerebellar infarcts or hemorrhages |
- Cerebellar tumors |
- Cerebellar degenerations |
- Multiple sclerosis |
- Migraine |
- Brainstem ischemia |
Chiari malformation and other cranio-cervical anomalies |
Paraneoplastic syndromes |
Drugs |
- Amiodorone |
- Pregabalin |
- Various ototoxic medications used for infections or cancer |
Pharmacological treatment | Comments |
---|---|
Midodrine (2.5–10 mg 2 or 3 times per day) | Direct alpha1-adrenoreceptor agonist. |
One of the few pharmacological agents positively tested in placebo-controlled studies, but its efficacy has often been questioned. | |
Droxidopa (100–600 mg 3 times per day) | Norepinephrine precursor. Has been widely used off-label in severe OH. |
Recently approved by the FDA. | |
Pyridostigmine (30-60 mg 2 or 3 times per day) | Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. Generally recommended for neurogenic OH only. |
BP increases marginally. Efficacy questioned. | |
Fludrocortisone (0.05–0.3 mg daily) | Mineralocorticoid. Volume expander. |
Increases sodium reabsorption and enhances sensitivity of alpha-adrenoreceptors. | |
May worsen supine hypertension and hypokalemia. | |
Ephedrine/pseudoephedrine (25/30–50/60 mg 3 times per day) | Direct and indirect alpha1-adrenoreceptor agonist. Efficacy controversial. |
Desmopressin (nasal spray, 5–40 mg daily; oral formulation, 100–800 mg daily) | Vasopressin analogue. Volume expander. |
Increases water reabsorption and reduces nocturia. Efficacy uncertain. |
OH, orthostatic hypotension; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; BP, blood pressure.