Treatment for balance disordersA new protocol for the treatment of balance disorders has provided dramatic results at various treatment centers in the United States dedicated to the treatment of hearing and balance disorders. Staffs of these centers include teams of Otolaryngologists, Neurologists, Physical Therapists, and Audiologists.Over the last 24 months more than 200 patients with various balance disorders--including acoustic neuroma resection, head trauma, postconcussion, Mnire's disease, vertiginous migraines, vestibular neuronitis, and presbystasis--have been treated with this protocol. The protocol requires patients to use a kinesthetic ability trainer 15 minutes a day for 20 days. The equipment chosen for the treatment is the SportKAT 3000.The SportKAT 3000 is fully computerized. The software requires patients to stand on an unstable platform and perform a series of exercises while looking at a computer monitor. These exercises require that patients' visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems work together in an integrated manner to accomplish a variety of tasks.This protocol demonstrated 97% effectiveness for a variety of balance disorders when used as primary treatment for one-third of the patients, and even more effective when used as a secondary tool for the remaining two-thirds. Other rehabilitation techniques had failed previously in those undergoing secondary treatment.

ENT: Ear, Nose & Throat Journal. Sep2002, Vol. 81 Issue 9, p667. 2p. 1 Color Photograph.

Presbystasis (presby-vertigo or dizziness) represents a change in the vestibular organ related to age. Vestibular dysfunction can be a specific cause of vertigo in the elderly. However, dizziness can be caused by cardiovascular, neurological or locomotor diseases, by a deterioration in the sensory organs and/or by adverse drug effects. Therefore, the diagnosis of dizziness in older people can be a challenge, as the symptoms are often vague and findings on examination overlap among potential causes; moreover, there is still no convincing diagnostic standard for presbystasis.The aim of this paper is to present an overview of the information in the current medical literature on the genetic aspect of presbycusis and presbystasis. Such a characterization could help us better understand the physiopathological mechanisms of these age-related inner ear diseases. This could lead to early diagnosis, early intervention or possibly to the development of novel therapeutic approaches. It would be of particular interest to realize a strategy to prevent some of the consequences of these medical conditions, such as the risk for falls in those affected by presbystasis, since falling in the elderly is a significant factor leading to morbidity and mortality.