Altered Chromogranin A Circulating Levels in Meniere's Disease

OBJECTIVES Meniere's disease (MD) is an inner ear disorder characterized by episodic vertigo, ear fullness, and hearing loss; usually vertigo attacks cluster in specific period. We studied in MD patients the circulating levels of chromogranin A (CgA) and vasostatin-1 (VS-1), secreted by the neuroendocrine system and involved in the regulation of the endothelial barrier function. METHODS Serum levels were assessed in 37 MD patients and 36 controls. The ratio between VS-1 and CgA was calculated. RESULTS CgA was increased in patients compared to controls (1.46 versus 0.67 nM, p = 0.01) while no difference was detected for VS-1 (0.41 versus 0.39, resp.). CgA levels in patients positively correlated with the frequency of vertigo spells in the previous four weeks (p = 0.008) and negatively with the time in days from the last vertigo attack (p = 0.018). Furthermore, the VS-1/CgA ratio negatively correlated with the frequency of vertigo spells (p = 0.029) and positively correlated with the time from the last attack (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION The results indicate that variations of CgA levels, but not of VS-1, occur in the blood of patients with active MD, depending on the frequency of vertigo spells and the time from the last crisis.