Hyperplastic growth, not hydrostatic distension, in endolymphatic hydrops in humans challenges the classic view of Meniere's disease.

ABSTRACT: Meniere's disease (MD), a degenerative inner ear disorder, is characterized by debilitating episodic vertigo and hearing fluctuations, progressing to permanent sensory impairment. The prevailing dogma attributes these symptoms to abnormal inner ear fluid buildup-endolymphatic hydrops (EH)-with pressure rise and repetitive microtrauma to sensory epithelia. However, this pressure-based mechanism lacks direct experimental evidence and fails to explain key clinical aspects. To revisit EH, we performed 3D reconstructive, machine-learning-enhanced histological analyses and immunohistochemistry on postmortem human inner ear specimens. Contrary to the classic pressure-based theory, EH-affected epithelia showed neither increased spacing between neighboring cells nor morphological evidence of ruptur

SUBMITTER: Bryton C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12630622 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature