The physiologic role of corticosteroids in Meniere's disease

摘要

Multiple options exist to manage Meniere's disease (MD), ranging from dietary modifications to ablative surgery. Corticosteroids (CS) have long been used to manage MD, but their exact mechanism for disease alleviation is relatively uncertain. Glucocorticoid receptors have been shown to exist in the human inner ear and several studies propose they influence mechanisms of blood flow, fluid regulation, and ion regulation, with recent evidence describing the latter two, Corticosteroids have been shown to upregulate aquaporins and ion channels in the inner ear, and may have a positive effect on labyrinthine blood flow. Additionally, processes have been described in genomic and nongenomic manners. This text will review the literature on the actions of CS on the inner ear relevant to MD. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.