Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0028738 (nystagmus)
 7,431 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Vertigo or dizziness is primarily caused by peripheral vestibular disorders, such as benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and vestibular neuritis. BPPV can be diagnosed from associated positional torsional or direction-changing horizontal nystagmus and can be treated with canalith repositioning procedures. In contrast, vestibular neuritis and other acute peripheral vestibulopathies can be diagnosed from associated unidirectional horizontal nystagmus. Evaluation of nystagmus is essential for the diagnosis of peripheral vestibular disorders. Vertigo/dizziness caused by disorders in the brainstem or upper cerebellum is usually associated with other neurological signs or symptoms, such as motor palsy, sensory deficit, dysarthria, ocular motor palsy, and limb ataxia. In contrast, vertigo/dizziness caused by disorders in the lower cerebellum is not associated with these signs or symptoms; however, truncal ataxia becomes apparent in a standing position. Small lesions in the lower cerebellum can rarely cause unidirectional horizontal nystagmus directed toward the side of the lesions or direction-changing apogeotropic positional nystagmus; both types of nystagmus are enhanced when a patient lies on the non-affected side. This positional enhancement suggests that the same pathogenetic mechanism is involved in both types of nystagmus. The cerebellar lesions may disinhibit both semicircular-ocular and otolith-ocular reflexes. Semicircular-ocular reflex-dominant disinhibitions may result in the ipsilateral horizontal nystagmus, whereas otolith-ocular reflex-dominant disinhibitions may result in the direction-changing apogeotropic positional nystagmus.
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PMID:[Nystagmus the diagnosis of vertigo and dizziness]. 2401 42

Vertigo/dizziness and syncope are among the most frequent clinical entities encountered in neurology. In patients with presumed syncope, it is important to distinguish it from neurological and psychiatric diseases causing a transient loss of consciousness due to another etiology. Moreover, central nervous disorders of autonomic blood pressure regulation as well as affections of the peripheral autonomic nerves can be responsible for the onset of real syncope. This is particularly relevant in recurrent syncope. Vertigo occurs in the context of temporary disorders, relatively harmless diseases associated with chronic impairment, as well as in acute life-threatening states. Patient history and clinical examination play an important role in classifying these symptoms. It is of crucial importance in this context, e.g., to establish whether the patient is experiencing an initial manifestation or whether such episodes have been known to occur recurrently over a longer period of time, as well as how long the episodes last. Clinical investigations include a differential examination of the oculomotor system with particular regard to nystagmus. The present article outlines the main underlying neurological diseases associated with syncope and vertigo, their relevant differential diagnoses as well as practical approaches to their treatment.
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PMID:[Vertigo/dizziness and syncope from a neurological perspective]. 2550 55