| Abstract |
Introduction: Cerebrovascular comorbidity factors (CCF) namely hypertension (HT) and hypercholesterolemia (HC) has been associated individually to the abnormalities seen in absolute peak latencies (APL) and inter-peak latencies (IPL) of the auditory brainstem response (ABR). HT effects the upper brainstem at lower click stimulus rate and HC effects the lower brainstem at higher click stimulus rate. However, concomitant effect of HT and HC on ABR parameters are inadequate. Material and Methods: Total 200 (age 40 - 60 years) non-diabetic subjects were measured for total cholesterol (TC) and blood pressure (BP). They were divided equally into four groups based on the reported measures (HC for TC > 200mg/dl; and HT for BP> 140/90 mmHg) as Group A (normal TC and BP), B (HC, normal BP), C (HT, normal TC), and D (HT, HC). ABR at low click stimulus were then recorded from subjects, and APL and IPL of groups B, C and D were compared with group A. Results: Group Cvs A: Significant increase (↑)(p < 0.01)in APL of waves I, II and V, and IPL of waves III-V; Group D vs A:significant ↑ in all APLs and IPLs; Group B vs A: no significant variation. Conclusion: HT was found to be stronger associated with abnormality in ABR whereas HC had a relatively weak association. But, their concomitant effect on ABR parameters demonstrated augmentation of the neuropathy of both upper and lower brainstem, reflecting the need for combined treatment of the CCFs.
KEYWORDS: Auditory brainstem response, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia.
|
