MDR
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Risk factors for the development of bilateral Meniere's disease and the establishment of a national Meniere's disease registry.
IRAS ID
275749
Contact name
John Phillips
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 1 days
Research summary
Recent research has suggested that Ménière’s disease may be a consequence of a number of individual conditions rather than developing from a single cause. This means that determining the different conditions that cause Ménière’s disease will help us to provide effective treatments. Experience from other similar medical conditions has taught us that the best method to identify different causes of a condition is via a process called ‘clinical subtyping’. We intend to set up a large Ménière’s disease database in order to allow us to subtype Ménière’s disease. More specifically, our proposed project aspires to achieve two aims. We intend to investigate a sub-type of Ménière’s disease, bilateral disease, i.e. both ears affected. We hope to identify what features predict an individual developing bilateral Ménière’s disease. Secondly, we hope to test the feasibility of expanding the database across the whole of the UK to involve all Ménière’s disease patients. This will allow many other features of Ménière’s disease to be used to establish sub-types and help predict the best treatment for individual patients.
Lay summary of study results: Results: A total of 411 participants were recruited into this study, 263 from NHS Trusts and 148 from independent hospitals or clinics. In our cohort of patients, 22% of individuals were identified as having bilateral Ménière's disease. Two statistically significant independent variables were identified as risk factors for the development of bilateral Ménière's disease: the presence of psoriasis and a history of ear infections.
Conclusions: Psoriasis and a history of ear infection have been identified as key risk factors for the development of bilateral Ménière's disease. It is anticipated that further work based on this finding will allow a better understanding of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms that predispose to the development of Ménière's disease symptoms.
REC name
North West - Liverpool Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/NW/0752
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jan 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion