Francis visits Mayo Clinic... migraine cause confirmed

http://www.tchain.com/otoneurology/disorders/menieres/menieres.html
Is there a cure?
At the present time there is no cure for Ménière's disease, but there are ways to manage the condition and help you control symptoms.

How common is Ménière's disease?

Studies have shown that Meniere's disease affects about 200 out of 100,000 people (or in other words, 2/1000). This is roughly the same prevalence as MS. The majority of people with Ménière's disease are over 40 years of age, with equal distribution between males and females. Interestingly, the Framingham study found that 2/100 people believe they have Meniere's disease in the US, suggesting that there is considerable chance of misdiagnosis.

What damage is done by Ménière's Disease?

1. Hair cell death: Conventional thought is that repeated attacks of Meniere's kills hair cells in the inner ear. This is a gradual process over years, but frequently resulting in unilateral functional deafness. Cochlear (hearing) hair cells are the most sensitive. Vestibular hair cells seem more resilient but there is also a slow decline in the caloric response in the diseased ear over roughly 15 years (Stahle et al, 1991).

2. Mechanical changes to the ear. Mechanical disruption of the inner ear is also likely with dilation of the utricle and saccule of the ear being a well known pathological finding. The saccule may dilate so that in later stages, it is adherent to the underside of the stapes footplate. This mechanical disruption and distortion of normal inner ear structures may result in the gradual onset of a chronic unsteadiness, even when patients are not having attacks. The periodic dilation and shrinkage of the utricle is also a reasonable explanation for periodic attacks of another inner ear disorder, BPPV. Finally, it also seems likely that there may be rupture of the suspensory system for the membranous labyrinth. This might create some mechanical instability of the utricle and saccule and consequently some chronic unsteadiness.

There is presently no evidence that Meniere's disease kills the cochleovestibular nerve (see Kitamura et al, 1997).

It stinks that there isn't a cure, but hopely it will be treated well. I still think we should give Steve the max.

 

Damn that sucks.

 

the poor guy. That **** came out of no where too. I don't recall any players in the nba in the past 10 years who had a problem like steve. I feel really sorry for francis.