AUTHOR=Yuan Xiaojia , Li Xiaozhen , Xu Yu , Zhong Liqun , Yan Zhanfeng , Chen Zhengguang 

TITLE=Microstructural changes of the vestibulocochlear nerve in patients with Ménière's disease using diffusion tensor imaging

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.915826

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2022.915826

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>To evaluate the microstructural changes of the vestibulocochlear nerve in patients with Ménière's disease.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A total of 26 subjects, 13 patients with MD and 13 healthy controls, underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) on a 3T scanner. The independent sample <italic>t</italic>-test was used to compare the differences in fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) between the two groups. A Pearson correlation was used between DTI and the dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) scores.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>There was a significant decrease in FA and an increase in ADC of the vestibulocochlear nerve in MD patients compared with healthy controls (<italic>P</italic> = 0.04, <italic>P</italic> = 0.001). FA had negative correlations with the DHI score (<italic>r</italic> = −0.62, <italic>P</italic> = 0.02) and DHI-functional score (<italic>r</italic> = −0.64, <italic>P</italic> = 0.02).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>These results are the first evidence of possible changes in the microstructure of the vestibulocochlear nerves in patients with MD. DTI is a potential technique for evaluating the vestibulocochlear nerve in patients with MD.</p></sec>