The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of exercise therapy in the rehabilitation of patients with unilateral and bilateral vestibular disorders using measurement of dynamic visual acuity during head movement. The study will also examine the types of compensatory strategies used by vestibular patients during recovery. The primary hypothesis is that the prescribed vestibular exercises will result in improvement in visual acuity over a shorter time course than no treatment (placebo exercises). Studies to date have focused on the exercise-induced recovery of postural stability. Vestibular dysfunction typically disrupts both postural stability and gaze stability. This study is unique because it focuses on the gaze-stabilizing vestibulo-ocular reflexes.

Condition	Treatment or Intervention	Phase
Vestibular Diseases	Procedure: Exercise therapy	Phase III

Ages Eligible for Study:  20 Years   -   80 Years,  Genders Eligible for Study:  Both

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Have unilateral and bilateral vestibular hypofunction.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Have central nervous system lesions.
• Have a visual acuity of 20/40 or worse when the head is stationary.
• Are on medications that suppress or facilitate vestibular function.

Florida
      Univ of Miami School of Medicine, Miami,  Florida,  33146-2406,  United States; Recruiting

Study chairs or principal investigators

Susan J. Herdman, PhD,  Principal Investigator

Study ID Numbers:  NIDCD-1157; 5 R01 DC03196-02
Record last reviewed:  October 2003
Record first received:  November 2, 1999
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:  NCT00000360
Health Authority: United States: Federal Government
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on 2004-11-08