Cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in parkinson disease

Aim: The cause of Postural instability, which is one of the characteristics that significantly affect the quality of life in Parkinson's Disease (PD), is not fully known. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the role of vestibular system in postural instability by cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) test. Material and Method: PD group consisted of 30 (23 males, 7 females) patients, control group 30 (22 males, 8 females) healthy volunteers, without any neurological or otological diseases. The ages of the individuals with PH changed between 50 and 87, with a mean of 66±9,2. The ages of the individuals in the control group were between 48 and 80, with a mean of 62±7,8. The mean duration of disease in PH was 4,8±3,1 (1-13) years. In the case group, 15 people were evaluated as Hoehn-Yahr stage I, 15 as Hoehn-Yahr stage II and 6 as Hoehn-Yahr stage III. In both groups, bilateral cVEMP recordings were done in all individuals. Findings: Bilateral normal biphasic VEMP responses (P13-N23) were recorded in all controls. PH group, 11 (36.6%) of the unilateral, 5 (16.6%) of the bilateral VEMP response could not be performed. 14 (46.6%) patients had bilateral VEMP response. P13 latencies were significantly longer in PH compared to controls. Also, mean response amplitudes were significantly lower than control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of N23 latencies. Conclusion: In our study, abnormal VEMP responses from Parkinson's patients were thought to be related to postural instability in the sacculocholithic reflex arc. Keywords: Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, Parkinson's disease, vestibulocollic reflex