Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage Increases Risk of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2-Mediated Otologic Dysfunction.

Objectives: We aim to use the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) to investigate the correlations between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage (NSD), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination rates, infection severity, and subsequent audiovestibular symptoms.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, surveys were administered to participants ≥18 years of age who received a SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and/or tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection between January 2020 and September 2022. ADI scores were calculated for each patient to quantify NSD.

The Hidden Enemy: Mal de Débarquement Syndrome and Its Impact on Military Operations.

Mal de Débarquement Syndrome (MdDS) is a poorly understood vestibular disorder that frequently affects military personnel exposed to motion during transportation and deployment. It is characterized by a persistent sensation of motion often experienced after disembarking from a ship or other mode of transportation. It can significantly affect a service member's balance, coordination, attention, and focus, which can then substantially impact their quality of life, ability to perform their military duties, and overall mission readiness.

In-situ hearing threshold estimation using Gaussian process classification.

One in six Americans suffers from hearing loss. While treatment with amplification is possible for many, the acceptance rate of hearing aids is low. Poor device fitting is one of the reasons.

Application of supervised machine learning algorithms for the evaluation of utricular function on patients with Meniere's disease: utilizing subjective visual vertical and ocular-vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials.

Background: Research on the otolith organs remains inconclusive.

Objectives: This study seeks to further elucidate utricular function in patients with Meniere's disease (MD) in three ways: (1) We aimed to disambiguate the role of the Subjective Visual Vertical (SVV) and Ocular Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (o-VEMP) tests regarding which utricular subsystem each is measuring. (2) We sought to characterize the acute and chronic state of MD by identifying differences in the relationship of SVV and o-VEMP results across patients with acute and chronic MD.

Enhanced survival of hypoimmunogenic otic progenitors following intracochlear xenotransplantation: repercussions for stem cell therapy in hearing loss models.

Stem cell replacement holds the potential for sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) treatment. However, its translation into clinical practice requires strategies for improving stem cell survival following intracochlear transplantation. Considering recent findings showing that the inner ear contains a resident population of immune cells, we hypothesized that immune evasion would improve the survival and residence time of transplanted stem cells in the cochlea, potentially leading to better outcomes.

Bridging the electrode-neuron gap: finite element modeling of in vitro neurotrophin gradients to optimize neuroelectronic interfaces in the inner ear.

Although cochlear implant (CI) technology has allowed for the partial restoration of hearing over the last few decades, persistent challenges (e.g., poor performance in noisy environments and limited ability to decode intonation and music) remain.

Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease presenting in a patient with SARS-CoV-2: a case report.

Background: We present a yet to be described association of SARS-CoV-2 infection with Kikuchi-Fujimoto disease.

Case Presentation: A 32-year-old physician with history of SARS-CoV-2 infection presented to the emergency department with 2 weeks of fever, chills, and right sided cervical lymphadenopathy. He was treated empirically for presumed folliculitis with worsening of symptoms leading to repeat presentation to the emergency department.

Recurrent macroglossia requiring tracheostomy after haemorrhagic basal ganglia stroke.

A 50-year-old African American woman with hypertension, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease and prior cerebral vascular accident was transferred from an outside hospital after being found unresponsive and subsequently intubated for severe orolingual swelling. Imaging showed left thalamic haemorrhagic stroke, and the lingual swelling was clinically concerning for angio-oedema, with which a lingual biopsy was consistent. Work-up was negative for hereditary or acquired angio-oedema, and imaging was negative for structural causes.

Probable neurosarcoidosis presenting as acute on chronic otorrhoea: a difficult diagnosis.

An elderly African American woman presented to our clinic following 9 months of right-sided unilateral headache, otorrhoea and progressive hearing loss. Despite treatment with topical and oral antibiotics, her clinical condition worsened, and imaging showed mastoid coalescence with an associated subgaleal abscess. She underwent right mastoidectomy and was discharged 3 days later on broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics despite negative operative cultures.

Three-Dimensional Otic Neuronal Progenitor Spheroids Derived from Human Embryonic Stem Cells.

Stem cell-replacement therapies have been proposed as a potential tool to treat sensorineural hearing loss by aiding the regeneration of spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) in the inner ear. However, transplantation procedures have yet to be explored thoroughly to ensure proper cell differentiation and optimal transplant procedures. We hypothesized that the aggregation of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived otic neuronal progenitor (ONP) cells into a multicellular form would improve their function and their survival post-transplantation.

Diagnostic value of refixation saccades in the Video Head Impulse Test (vHIT) in unilateral definite Meniere's disease.

We currently interpret the video Head Impulse Test (vHIT) results mainly based on the gain value. The purpose of this study is to evaluate vHIT results for both gain and re-fixation saccades on unilateral definite Meniere's disease (MD) subjects in comparison with normal healthy subjects. Forty unilateral definite MD subjects and age-matched healthy subjects were recruited.

An engineered three-dimensional stem cell niche in the inner ear by applying a nanofibrillar cellulose hydrogel with a sustained-release neurotrophic factor delivery system.

Although the application of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in stem cell-replacement therapy remains promising, its potential is hindered by a low cell survival rate in post-transplantation within the inner ear. Here, we aim to enhance the in vitro and in vivo survival rate and neuronal differentiation of otic neuronal progenitors (ONPs) by generating an artificial stem cell niche consisting of three-dimensional (3D) hESC-derived ONP spheroids with a nanofibrillar cellulose hydrogel and a sustained-release brain-derivative neurotrophic factor delivery system. Our results demonstrated that the transplanted hESC-derived ONP spheroids survived and neuronally differentiated into otic neuronal lineages in vitro and in vivo and also extended neurites toward the bony wall of the cochlea 90 days after the transplantation without the use of immunosuppressant medication.

Evaluation of the utricular function with the virtual-subject visual vertical system: comparison with ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials.

The subjective visual vertical (SVV) is the most frequently assessed modality of verticality perception and has been measured in a variety of clinical situations, including peripheral vestibular lesions. The main objectives are (1) to collect normative data of Virtual SVV™ from healthy subjects, and (2) to study the correlation between Virtual SVV™ and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (o-VEMP) on healthy subjects. Forty-three healthy subjects were recruited.

Cervicofacial necrotising fasciitis by clindamycin-resistant and methicillin-resistant (MRSA) in a young healthy man.

An otherwise healthy 24-year-old man presented with 1 week of fever, facial pain and swelling. He initially sought care at an outside hospital, where he was diagnosed with folliculitis and sent home with oral antibiotics. On arrival at our institution, CT neck was ordered, which demonstrated diffuse submental phlegmon, prompting incision and drainage.

Full Factorial Microfluidic Designs and Devices for Parallelizing Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Differentiation.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are promising therapeutic tools for regenerative therapies and disease modeling. Differentiation of cultured hPSCs is influenced by both exogenous factors added to the cultures and endogenously secreted molecules. Optimization of protocols for the differentiation of hPSCs into different cell types is difficult because of the many variables that can influence cell fate.

Developmental profiling of microRNAs in the human embryonic inner ear.

Due to the extreme inaccessibility of fetal human inner ear tissue, defining of the microRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate development of the inner ear has relied on animal tissue. In the present study, we performed the first miRNA sequencing of otic precursors in human specimens. Using HTG miRNA Whole Transcriptome assays, we examined miRNA expression in the cochleovestibular ganglion (CVG), neural crest (NC), and otic vesicle (OV) from paraffin embedded (FFPE) human specimens in the Carnegie developmental stages 13-15.

Creating a stem cell niche in the inner ear using self-assembling peptide amphiphiles.

The use of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) for regeneration of the spiral ganglion will require techniques for promoting otic neuronal progenitor (ONP) differentiation, anchoring of cells to anatomically appropriate and specific niches, and long-term cell survival after transplantation. In this study, we used self-assembling peptide amphiphile (PA) molecules that display an IKVAV epitope (IKVAV-PA) to create a niche for hESC-derived ONPs that supported neuronal differentiation and survival both in vitro and in vivo after transplantation into rodent inner ears. A feature of the IKVAV-PA gel is its ability to form organized nanofibers that promote directed neurite growth.

Cervical oesophageal perforation secondary to food consumption in a well-appearing patient.

A 71-year-old woman presented to the emergency department 8 days after ingesting fish with mild neck pain but otherwise demonstrated no signs of infection. X-rays were negative but CT imaging demonstrated a curvilinear radiodense object extending from the posterior cervical oesophagus through the right thyroid lobe terminating in the neck just a few millimetres from the external carotid artery. Rigid oesophagoscopy and direct laryngoscopy were negative and the neck was explored for the foreign body, which ultimately was encountered after a painstaking dissection of the right neck that included skeletonisation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve.

The Protean Neuropsychiatric and Vestibuloauditory Manifestations of Neurosarcoidosis.

Background: A rare subset of sarcoidosis, neurosarcoidosis, is reported to occur in 5-7% of sarcoid patients and can manifest in a variety of ways. The most common are facial paralysis and optic neuritis, less commonly causing cochleovestibulopathy, blindness, anosmia, and other cranial nerve (CN) palsies. The sensory deficit may be severe and psychiatric symptoms may result from the effects of the disease or steroid treatment.

Directed Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells Toward Placode-Derived Spiral Ganglion-Like Sensory Neurons.

The ability to generate spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) from stem cells is a necessary prerequisite for development of cell-replacement therapies for sensorineural hearing loss. We present a protocol that directs human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) toward a purified population of otic neuronal progenitors (ONPs) and SGN-like cells. Between 82% and 95% of these cells express SGN molecular markers, they preferentially extend neurites to the cochlear nucleus rather than nonauditory nuclei, and they generate action potentials.

Paraneoplastic syndrome: a masquerade of autoimmune inner ear disease.

Rare and diagnostically challenging, paraneoplastic syndromes can appear months to years before detection of their underlying neoplasms and are associated with rapidly progressive neurologic deficits, including cochleovestibulopathy and death. Less than 20 cases of paraneoplastic cochleovestibulopathy have been reported in the online database PubMed. We present three recent cases: one patient with a history of B-cell follicular lymphoma who developed dermatomyositis and hearing loss before detection of lymphoma recurrence in his anterior chest wall, a second patient with sudden asymmetric hearing loss, found to have a 12-cm renal mass before death, and a third with fluctuating bilateral hearing loss who was ultimately found to have a thymoma.

Autoimmune inner ear disease: a retrospective review of forty-seven patients.

The purpose of this retrospective study was to characterize and further define autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED) using the Harris AIED classification. A retrospective review was conducted at two tertiary medical centers for 47 patients who were diagnosed with AIED. The overall patient response rate to oral prednisone treatment was 69.

Wnt signaling promotes neuronal differentiation from mesenchymal stem cells through activation of Tlx3.

Wnt/β-catenin signaling promotes neural differentiation by activation of the neuron-specific transcription factors, Neurogenin1 (Ngn1), NeuroD, and Brn3a, in the nervous system. As neurons in cranial sensory ganglia and dorsal root ganglia transiently express Ngn1, NeuroD, and Brn3a during embryonic development, we hypothesized that Wnt proteins could instructively promote a sensory neuronal fate from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) directed to differentiate into neurons. Consistent with our hypothesis, Wnt1 induced expression of sensory neuron markers including Ngn1, NeuroD, and Brn3a, as well as glutamatergic markers in neurally induced MSCs in vitro and promoted engraftment of transplanted MSCs in the inner ear bearing selective loss of sensory neurons in vivo.