Hughes G B, Kinney S E, Barna B P, Calabrese L H
Laryngoscope. 1983 Apr;93(4):410-7. doi: 10.1002/lary.1983.93.4.410.
Autoimmune inner ear disease was first described by McCabe in 1979. The diagnosis is supported by cell mediated immune responses to inner ear membrane antigen stimulation. Meniere's disease consists of episodic vertigo, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus and often aural pressure. Although most clinicians feel that Meniere's disease has no known cause, recently several researchers have suggested that some cases of Meniere's disease may be autoimmune in origin. In the present study, 10 patients with bilateral Meniere's disease were studied prospectively for autoimmune inner ear disease using both cellular and humoral immune tests. Results were compared with normal control subjects. One additional patient with Meniere's disease was identified retrospectively to have positive autoimmune test results. Preliminary conclusions suggest that at least some cases of presumed idiopathic Meniere's disease are autoimmune in origin. Therapeutic implications are significant: the addition of steroids, cytotoxic drugs and/or apheresis to conventional treatment may help prevent total deafness which otherwise might be inevitable.
自身免疫性内耳疾病于1979年由麦凯布首次描述。对内耳膜抗原刺激的细胞介导免疫反应支持这一诊断。梅尼埃病表现为发作性眩晕、波动性感音神经性听力损失、耳鸣，且常伴有耳内闷胀感。尽管大多数临床医生认为梅尼埃病病因不明，但最近一些研究人员提出，部分梅尼埃病病例可能源于自身免疫。在本研究中，对10例双侧梅尼埃病患者进行前瞻性研究，采用细胞免疫和体液免疫检测来诊断自身免疫性内耳疾病。将结果与正常对照受试者进行比较。另外回顾性鉴定出1例梅尼埃病患者自身免疫检测结果呈阳性。初步结论表明，至少部分推测为特发性的梅尼埃病病例源于自身免疫。这具有重要的治疗意义：在传统治疗基础上加用类固醇、细胞毒性药物和/或血液成分分离术可能有助于预防否则可能不可避免的全聋。
