Ménière disease (MD) is a chronic inner ear disorder characterized by recurrent vertigo, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, and tinnitus, but its etiology remains poorly understood. We performed a genome-wide meta-analysis of 8,969 MD case subjects and 1,962,542 control subjects across five biobanks, identifying five independent genome-wide significant loci and estimating an observed-scale SNP heritability of...
No immediate change to clinical practice; findings are foundational genetic research, but they may eventually support genetic risk screening and targeted therapies for Ménière's disease.
Implicating inner ear developmental pathways in Ménière's disease moves the field closer to understanding its biological root cause, which is a prerequisite for disease-modifying treatments.
- 01Genome-wide association study (GWAS) links inner ear developmental gene pathways to Ménière's disease risk.
- 02Published in the American Journal of Human Genetics (2026), a high-impact genetics journal.
- 03Findings suggest Ménière's disease has a significant genetic component tied to early inner ear formation.
- 04Results could guide future drug target discovery and genetic counseling for familial cases.
- 05Study does not change current diagnostic criteria or treatment protocols.
Genome-wide association analysis implicates inner ear developmental pathways in the etiology of Ménière's disease.
studysupportedMénière's disease has a significant genetic basis involving developmental gene networks.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42302782
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ajhg.2026.05.011.
- Journal
- American Journal of Human Genetics
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Individuals diagnosed with Ménière's disease and population controls
- Intervention
- Genome-wide association analysis
- Comparator
- Population controls without Ménière's disease
Primary outcomes
Identification of genetic loci associated with Ménière's disease; Pathway enrichment for inner ear developmental genes