Several studies are currently open to participation:
Gepant Efficacy In Meniere's Disease
This is a randomized controlled trial to test out an FDA approved migraine medication to see if it's effective in Meniere's disease. Meniere's disease is a terrible disease, and we need to have better treatment options. Curiously, Meniere's disease and migraine overlap a lot, so we are investigating a new approach in treating Meniere's disease using targeted migraine medications. The history of Meniere's disease shows that you have to evaluate each treatment compared to control in order to find out if it really works. In this trial, each participant will get a medication pack, and then they treat each vertigo attack with a medication (either a placebo or the study drug- they won't know which), and we will collect data on all aspects of each attack to find out if the study drug works.
Click HERE to learn more.
Oura Ring And CGRP Levels for Episode prediction in Vestibular Migraine
ORACLE-VM is a study to understand how sleep quality affects vertigo and dizziness in vestibular migraine. In addition, we are working with a scientist partner - Dr. Ian Dickerson - so find out if CGRP levels are elevated in vestibular migraine, and if they rise during vertigo attacks. Our hope is that by understanding triggers, we can learn how to stop dizziness and vertigo for those with vestibular migraine.
Click HERE to learn more.
Sharon Lab Key Publications:
Visual Motion Sensitivity in Vestibular Migraine. Bourdillon AT, Allen JW, Smith JL, Ahluwalia V, Gore RK, Sharon JD. Otol Neurotol. 2026 Jun 3. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000004948. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42235082.
In this study, we found that sensitivity to short videos with a lot of movement was much higher in those with vestibular migraine compared to healthy controls.
Calcitonin gene-related peptide in the audiovestibular system. Patel EJ, Sharon JD, Levin M, Luebke AE. Headache. 2026 Jan;66(1):278-285. doi: 10.1111/head.15075. Epub 2025 Oct 24. PMID: 41137472.
This study provides an overview of how CGRP affects hearing and balance. Our lab believes that understanding CGRP in the ear is critical for understand many common conditions like dizziness, vertigo, hearing loss, and tinnitus.
A placebo controlled, randomized clinical trial of galcanezumab for vestibular migraine: The INVESTMENT study. Sharon JD, Krauter R, Chae R, Gardi A, Hum M, Allen I, Levin M. Headache. 2024 Nov-Dec;64(10):1264-1272. doi: 10.1111/head.14835. Epub 2024 Sep 30. PMID: 39344988.
The INVESTMENT placebo controlled randomized controlled trial showed that treatment with a targeted migraine medication improved dizziness and other symptoms in vestibular migraine.
Development and Validation of VM-PATHI: Vestibular Migraine Patient Assessment Tool and Handicap Inventory. Sharon JD, Krauter R, Kirk L, Pasquesi L, Allen IE, Formeister EJ, Michael RL, Levin M. Otol Neurotol. 2020 Apr;41(4):e494-e500. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000002561. PMID: 32176141.
This study describes the development and validation of the first disease specific patient reported outcome measure for vestibular migraine.
The Epidemiology of Vestibular Migraine: A Population-based Survey Study. Formeister EJ, Rizk HG, Kohn MA, Sharon JD. Otol Neurotol. 2018 Sep;39(8):1037-1044. doi: 10.1097/MAO.0000000000001900. PMID: 30020261
In this study, using a large database (NHIS), we calculated that vestibular migraine affects 2.7% of adults in the United States.
Other Studies:
VM-PATHI: Vestibular Migraine Patient Assessment Tool and Handicap Inventory
For patients with a confirmed diagnosis with Vestibular Migraine, this survey is a validated measure of disease related suffering. Scores are possible between 0 to 100; with 0 indicating no disease related suffering, and 100 indicating the highest possible disease related suffering. The score appears at the bottom of the form, and is updated in real-time. This tool is not intended for diagnosis; but instead to help guide research into vestibular migraine. If you believe you are suffering from Vestibular Migraine; please contact your local qualified medical professional.
Development of VM-PATHI was generously supported by Hearing Research Inc.