http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26696345 [Long-term efficacy of triple semicircular canal occlusion in the treatment of intractable Meniere's disease]. [Article in Chinese] Zhang D1, Fan Z1, Han Y1, Li Y1, Wang H2. Author information 1Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Otology, Jinan 250021, China. 2Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Provincial Hospital affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Otology, Jinan 250021, China; Email: [email protected]. Abstract OBJECTIVE: To explore the long-term efficacy and safety of triple semicircular canal occlusion (TSCO) in the treatment of intractable Meniere's disease (MD) so as to provide an alternative surgical procedure for treating this disorder. METHODS: Data from Forty-nine patients, who were referred to our hospital and diagnosed with unilateral MD strictly meeting the criteria issued by Chinese Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Committee (2006) from Dec. 2010 to Jul. 2012, were retrospectively analyzed in this work. Forty-nine patients, in whom the standardized conservative treatment was given at least one year and frequent vertigo still occurred, received TSCO. Vertigo control and auditory function were measured. Pure tone audiometry, caloric test, and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) were performed for evaluation of audiological and vestibular function. Magnetic resonance hydrograph of inner ear was performed in patients received TSCO after 2 years for the observation of morphology of membranous labyrinth. Postoperative follow-up period was more than 2 years. RESULTS: According to the preoperative staging of hearing, among these 49 patients, there were 2 cases in stage II (with an average hearing threshold of 25-40 dBHL), 40 in stage III (41-70 dBHL) and 7 in stage IV (over 70 dBHL). Vertigo was controlled effectively in all 49 cases in two-year follow-up, of which 40 cases (81.6%) were completely controlled and 9 cases (18.4%) were substantially controlled after surgery. The rate of hearing preservation was 69.4% and the rate of hearing loss was 30.6%. Post-operatively, all patients suffered from temporary vertigo and balance disorders. Vertigo was disappeared in all patients within 3-5 days, while averagely recovered after 13.5 days. Two years afer treatment, loss of semicircular canal function by caloric test was found in the operation side of all patients and no change in cVEMP test was noted. All patients had no facial paralysis, cerebrospinal fluid leakage, and other complications. Magnetic resonance hydrograph of inner ear showed that endolymph fluid in the position of plugging had no water after 2-years of TSCO. CONCLUSIONS: TSCO, which can reduce vertiginous symptoms effectively in patients with intractable MD in long-term follow-up, represents an effective and safe therapy for this disorder. TSCO is expected to be used as an alternative procedure for the treatment of MD in selected patients suffering from severe hearing loss or recurrence after endolymphatic sac surgery.
The Chinese can't even make baby formula or dog food without killing someone. They have a long history of fraudulent data publishing, and consistently rank #1 with most scientific articles retracted due to fraud. I would never trust anything they publish, much less let them cut into me.
Vicki, thank you for always taking the time to share anything that you find published regarding this horrible thing called Meniere's. Whether or not anyone agrees with "who" is doing the research or whether or not it would be considered valid in the US, all info is good to have in our base of knowledge - IMO.
Never heard of an MRH before and couldn't find anything on it. I thought one of the reasons Meniere's was so hard to diagnose is because it's nearly impossible to detect fluid in the inner ear. Also, this procedure apparently isn't new as I found a similar article from 2008 on the same website, also from a Chinese study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18568514 Here is an article dated from 2012 from a different site touting the same procedure: http://www.medscape.com/medline/abstract/23141401 The 2008 study is from Shanghai Jiao Tong University while the other two are from Shandong University and appear to have been done by the same doctors. I'm guessing the article Vicki posted is an update on their study. And yes, thank you Vicki for continually searching for this kind of stuff.
Scott does have a point and I agree with his assessment of the Chinese pertaining to food, pet food etc etc. But as nicmger points out, information is good. I doubt anyone here is running off to China to have this procedure done
Right, I didn't think we had the ability to see fluid in the inner ear. My ENT said that scientists are working on an improved technique/magnets for MRI to allow them to image the inner ear in much more detail so they would be able to see the small, fine structures and hopefully actually see whether there is inflammation or fluid in there. It would be great if there were an objective test like that.