Delayed endolymphatic hydrops (DEH) and Ménière's disease (MD) are both hydropic ear disease. In MD patients, the endotypes of MD are classified based on pathological types of the endolymphatic sac (ES), which can be distinguished by a radiological indicator: the angular trajectory of the vestibular aqueduct (ATVA)....
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Discussion
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This pathological finding suggests degeneration — not congenital underdevelopment — drives endolymphatic sac dysfunction in delayed endolymphatic hydrops, which may eventually influence how this condition is distinguished from Ménière's disease in diagnosis and management.
Clarifying the pathological mechanism of delayed endolymphatic hydrops versus Ménière's disease could lead to better-targeted therapies and more precise diagnostic subtyping in inner-ear fluid disorders.
- 01Endolymphatic sac degeneration, not hypoplasia (being too small from birth), appears to underlie ipsilateral delayed endolymphatic hydrops.
- 02Study compares pathological features of delayed hydrops with those seen in Ménière's disease.
- 03Findings could reframe how clinicians subtype endolymphatic hydrops conditions.
- 04Published in Frontiers in Neurology.
- 05Results are pathology-based and require validation in larger cohorts before clinical translation.
Endolymphatic sac degeneration, rather than hypoplasia, is the primary pathological feature in ipsilateral delayed endolymphatic hydrops.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42553319
- DOI
- 10.3389/fneur.2026.1896403.
- Journal
- Frontiers in Neurology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Patients with ipsilateral delayed endolymphatic hydrops and comparison cases with Ménière's disease
- Intervention
- Pathological examination of endolymphatic sac tissue
- Comparator
- Ménière's disease endotypes
Primary outcomes
Pathological characterization of endolymphatic sac (degeneration vs. hypoplasia); Comparison of endotype features between delayed hydrops and Ménière's disease