Head and Neck Imaging

Cogan's syndrome

(David Glendenning Cogan, 1908 -1993, American ophthalmologist), nonsyphilitic interstitial keratitis characterized by an abrupt onset with vertigo and tinnitus followed by deafness due to autoimmune labyrinthitis . About 50% of patients have an associated systemic disease, most commonly polyarteritis nodosa. It is also known as oculovestibulo-auditory syndrome. CT and MRI may show calcific obliteration and soft-tissue obliteration of the intralabyrinthine fluid spaces; MRI may reveal hyperintensity inside the membranous labyrinth on T1-weighted images and enhancement on gadolinium-enhanced images, probably representing leakage through the abnormal labyrinthine membrane caused by active disease.

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