[The contribution of the pendular rotation test in the diagnosis of the spinal form of multiple sclerosis (author's transl)].

Among 200 cases of multiple sclerosis which were studied, 41 had not presented any supraspinal manifestations. The simple E.N.G. examination discovered a spontaneous nystagmus in only three cases. On the contrary the pendular rotation test revealed disorders in most of the cases, chiefly abnormalities of central type. A comparative study of the age of patients, age of onset of the disease, duration and course suggested that none of these factors play a significant role in the frequency and the nature of the vestibular disorder. The high percentage of the cases in which subclinical abnormalities were discovered by the pendular rotation test shows that this method has a particular sensitivity regarding the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, in cases in which supraspinal symptoms are absent.