Treatment with a new nutraceutical compound on patients suffering from balance disorders: Dizziness handicap inventory scores

Abstract

Objective: Purpose: To investigate whether treatment with citicoline, in association with vitamin B6, ginger, melissa and ViNitrox, could improve Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) scores in patients affected by dizziness and vertigo. Materials and methods: Fifty-five consecutive subjects (ranging from 49 to 71 years of age) who complained of dizziness and vertigo of unknown origins were treated with citicoline (500 mg) along with ginger (200 mg), vitamin B6 (2.1 mg), melissa (300 mg) and ViNitrox (150 mg) twice per day for a two-month period. Patients underwent pure tone audiometry (PTA) and a neurotological visit including spontaneous nystagmus testing, bedside examination and the Romberg Test. To evaluate the perceived severity of dizziness and vertigo, its impact on life and the efficacy of treatment, patients were assessed using the DHI before and after treatment. Results: The majority of patients did not report any family history of hearing impairment (94.54%), and 67.27% did not report any kind of hearing loss at the moment of the first examination; mean PTA0.5-4 kHz resulted in 32.5 dB HL and 31.9 dB HL for the left and right ear, respectively. DHI mean value before treatment was 55.85 ± 11.69, while it decreased to 19.85 ± 10.56 after completing therapy (p=0.0001); no significant association between the variables examined and post-treatment DHI values was found (p>0.05). Conclusion: Our results suggest that the use of citicoline should be taken into consideration when managing patients suffering from balance disorders.