FRIDAY, March 7, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Serum aquaporin 8 (AQP8) expression is associated with the degree of hydrolabyrinth in Meniere disease and can predict prognosis, according to a study published in the March issue of _Clinical Otolaryngology_.
Rui Zhao, from The First Affiliated Hospital of Shaoyang University in China, and colleagues enrolled 105 patients diagnosed with Meniere disease and 102 healthy controls in a study to explore the role of AQP8 expression in assessing the degree of hydrolabyrinth and predicting prognosis.
The researchers found that the expression level of serum AQP8 mRNA was significantly higher in Meniere disease than in the control group. Serum AQP8 mRNA expression levels were higher in the severe hydrops group than in the mild hydrops group and the no endolymphatic hydrops group; levels were also higher in the mild hydrops group than in the no hydrops group. Compared with the good prognosis group, the poor prognosis group had higher disease duration, proportion of severe hydrops, and serum AQP8 mRNA expression. For predicting prognosis in patients with Meniere disease, the area under the curve for serum AQP8 mRNA was 0.812.
"Serum AQP8 is highly expressed in Meniere's disease patients, and this increased expression is closely related to the aggravation of endolymphatic hydrops," the authors write.
[Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/coa.14241)