Comparison of the Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential and the Blink Reflex in Cerebellar and Brainstem Infarction Patients

Objective: This study investigated whether the blink reflex could be substituted for the vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP), which has some limitations for use in stroke patients.Methods: Thirty-four patients with cerebellar or brainstem ischemic stroke underwent VEMP and blink reflex testing. We compared the P13 latency of VEMP and the R1, R2, R2’ latency of the blink reflex in stroke patients. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Fisher exact test and independent t-test, with a p-value < 0.05 indicating statistical significance.Results: In 29 stroke patients, excluding those with bilateral lesions, the VEMP and the blink test did not show a statistically significant relationship (p = 0.2701). In all 34 stroke patients participating in the study, including those with bilateral lesions, R2’ mean showed a statistically significant difference (p = 0.0081) according to the presence of normal or abnormal VEMP. Conclusion: R2’ of the blink reflex passes through more neural pathways and polysynaptic pathways than R1 and R2; therefore, it showed a more prominent difference between the normal and abnormal VEMP groups.