Assessment of serum antibodies to inner ear in patients with meniÈre’s disease

Authors

Dr. med. Bruno Fattori (Pisa, Italy)
Dr. med. Andrea Nacci (Pisa, Italy)
Dr. med. Lucrezia Riente (Pisa, Italy)
Dr. med. Luca Bruschini (Pisa, Italy)
Dr. med. Francesco Ursino (Pisa, Italy)

Proceedings

XXX Congress of the NES - Oporto - Portugal

Topics

Neurootology
Equilibrium
Diseases
Neurootology
Equilibrium
Neurootology
Sensology

Keywords

Antibodies innen ear, Ménière's disease, Western blot.

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Abstract

Meniere’s disease (MD) is an idiopathic inner ear disorder characterized by fluctuating hearing loss, episodic vertigo and tinnitus of unknown etiology. There are growing evidences that autoimmunity may be involved in its development. We studied the reactivity to bovine inner ear antigens by Western blot immunoassay in sera from patients affected by MD, previously extensively studied for the presence of antibodies to collagens and membrane proteins. Reactivity to inner ear antigens of molecular weight of 44 and 53 kD was present respectively in 11/25 (44%) and 10/25 (40%) of patients, both antigens were absent in sera of healthy donors. It is still unclear whether the antibodies to 44 and 53 kD proteins are important in the pathogenesis of MD or rather represent the result of inflammation and tissue destruction. Even in this case, they could contribute to the perpetuation of the disease or play a role as a cofactor in association with other mechanisms.