Lindsay-Hemenway Syndrome: Review of the literature and case report

Abstract

OBJECTIVES. Reviewing the literature data related to Lindsay – Hemenway syndrome. MATERIAL AND METHODS. We searched PubMed and Google Scholar with the key words of “Lindsay-Hemenway syndrome”, “benign positional vertigo”, “vestibular rehabilitation” RESULTS. Lindsay-Hemenway syndrome is characterized by an association between vestibular neuronitis and BPPV. The specificity of the syndrome consists in the existence of an initial episode of acute vestibular neuropathy manifested by intense vertigo and nystagmus, followed in a variable time frame by episodes of posterior canal BPPV. The treatment of the syndrome consists in a combination of otolith repositioning manoeuvres and vestibular rehabilitation therapy. The physicians involved in treating patients with vestibular disorders should be aware of the existence of this syndrome in order to diagnose and treat the patients accordingly. CONCLUSION. The Lindsay-Hemenway syndrome is a challenge for the physician. In order to establish a diagnosis, a careful investigation of clinical history and objective examination are needed. The clinician should take into consideration the presence of a sudden vertigo without deafness followed by postural nystagmus, and unilateral labyrinthine hyporeflexia or absence of reflectivity. For a successful therapeutic approach, we should be able to combine manoeuvres of repositioning for BPPV with an appropriate vestibular rehabilitation therapy in order to ensure a correct central compensation of the peripheral unilateral deficit.