Ménière's Disease research

Researchers funded by Deafness Research UK are currently conducting a major project to unravel the genetic basis of Ménière's Disease.

Most cases of Ménière's are sporadic but in 7 per cent other family members are similarly affected. There is no clinical difference between sporadic and familial causes.

To search for genes likely to harbour DNA mutations that may cause Ménière's Disease, a 'genome scan' is being conducted at the MRC Geneservice laboratory in Cambridge, with funding from The Ménière's Society. In this approach, DNA from affected and unaffected individuals from 17 families with Ménière's Disease is employed to generate data that will reveal the chromosomal location of genes that may explain the disorder in some or all of these families.

A major grant from Deafness Research UK has enabled researchers to analyse the gene mapping data from the genome scan. So far about two thirds of the data have been analysed, and new results strongly suggest that a gene that causes Ménière's Disease in about half the families is located on chromosome 14. No other chromosomal regions have so far emerged as likely candidates for harbouring any other genes, but the analysis is ongoing. Genes located on chromosome 14 are being screened for mutations in affected individuals, but so far, those screened do not appear to be involved. In additional work funded by this grant, the researchers are examining the role of immune system genetics in predisposition to Ménière's Disease, since there is thought to be an autoimmune component to the genetic predisposition.

Other approaches are also being taken using the grant funding from Deafness Research UK. In one such approach, researchers are screening genes located anywhere in the genome that they predict may predispose to Ménière's Disease when they are not functioning properly. In this 'candidate gene' approach, genes are screened directly for mutations in patients with a family history of Ménière's Disease. A number of potential genes have so far been ruled out by this process, and others are currently being examined.

Longer term plans include searching for genes that predispose to Ménière's Disease in a large population of sporadic patients using approaches complementary to those being used already, in an effort to maintain the momentum that has been built up in the search for all genes that influence Ménière's Disease.

Unravelling the genetic basis of Ménière's Disease will help to direct the search for new therapeutic and even preventative strategies, in the long-term. In the short term, it will speed up early diagnosis, which can sometimes be difficult, and it will provide a predictive test for relatives or descendants of affected patients, especially in familial cases.