Brainstem-Basilar Artery Atherosclerosis Leading to Meniere’s Disease 2001.4.7

Brainstem-Basilar Artery Atherosclerosis Leading to Meniere’s Disease 2001.4.7

When cerebral artery atherosclerosis occurs in the internal capsule region, it can cause hemiplegia—right-sided paralysis on the left side, left-sided paralysis on the right side—and in addition to hemiplegia, it can also lead to aphasia. When it occurs in the basilar artery, it can cause paroxysmal vertigo. This type of vertigo is very similar to the so-called otogenic vertigo; the similarity lies in the fact that head movements exacerbate the symptoms, while closing the eyes does not. This is because the basilar artery supplies blood to the inner ear, and head movements affect blood supply, whereas closing the eyes does not. Maintaining a fixed sleeping position, especially with the head elevated, often aggravates or alleviates dizziness, which can be used as a diagnostic feature. In the Spring of the Year of the Sheep, I treated the wife of Director Xu Wei from the Ganbao Newspaper, who suffered from such vertigo. She had visited both the 301 Hospital and the Jishuitan Hospital, both of which diagnosed her condition similarly. Since treatment had not been effective, she came back to me. I prescribed the following: Red Peony 10 g, Chuanxiong 10 g, Safflower 3 g, Agarwood 10 g, Salvia 20 g, Panax Notoginseng 3 g (infused), Leech 10 g (infused), Magnolia Bark 10 g, Hook Vine 20 g, Polyporus 10 g, Raw Ochre 15 g, Summer Solstice Herb 10 g, Pinellia 6 g, Plantago 10 g, Schisandra 6 g, Yam 10 g, Stir-fried Sour Jujube Seeds 15 g, Angelica 10 g, Longan Flesh 10 g, Alisma 30 g, Atractylodes 10 g. Decoct in water and take 14 doses, after which improvement began to appear.