Morphological correlates of hearing loss after cochlear implantation and electro-acoustic stimulation in a hearing-impaired Guinea pig model.

Hybrid or electro-acoustic stimulation (EAS) cochlear implants (CIs) are designed to provide high-frequency electric hearing together with residual low-frequency acoustic hearing. However, 30-50% of EAS CI recipients lose residual hearing after implantation. The objective of this study was to determine the mechanisms of EAS-induced hearing loss in an animal model with high-frequency hearing loss.

Evidence-based practice: management of vertigo.

The article focuses on the evidence basis for the management of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, the most common diagnosis of vertigo in both primary care and subspecialty settings. An overview is presented, along with evidence-based clinical assessment, diagnosis, and management. Summaries of differential diagnosis of vertigo and outcomes are presented.

The Otology Data Collection project: report from the CHEER network.

Objective: To describe and communicate data collected in the CHEER (Creating Healthcare Excellence through Education and Research) infrastructure proof-of-concept study to facilitate understanding of the potential capabilities of practice-based research networks and to present pilot data for development of future research initiatives.

Study Design: Prospective observational study of CHEER infrastructure operational capacity using a convenience sample of all patients presenting to the practices with tinnitus, dizziness, or a combination of these symptoms.

Setting: The CHEER network of community and academic practice sites.

Volumetric in vivo imaging of microvascular perfusion within the intact cochlea in mice using ultra-high sensitive optical microangiography.

Studying the inner ear microvascular dynamics is extremely important to understand the cochlear function and to further advance the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of many otologic disorders. However, there is currently no effective imaging tool available that is able to access the blood flow within the intact cochlea. In this paper, we report the use of an ultrahigh sensitive optical micro-angiography (UHS-OMAG) imaging system to image 3-D microvascular perfusion within the intact cochlea in living mice.

Volumetric in vivo imaging of intracochlear microstructures in mice by high-speed spectral domain optical coherence tomography.

There is considerable interest in developing new methods for in vivo imaging of the complex anatomy of the mammalian cochlea for clinical as well as fundamental studies. In this study, we explored, the feasibility of spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) for 3-D in vivo imaging of the cochlea in mice. The SD-OCT system employed in this study used a broadband light source centered at 1300 nm, and the imaging speed of the system was 47,000 A-scans per second using the InGaAs camera.

The aborted early history of the translabyrinthine approach: a victim of suppression or technical prematurity?

Objective: To ascertain the reasons translabyrinthine (TL) approach to acoustic neuroma, initially attempted in 1911, became relegated to obscurity for nearly half a century.

Study Design: A scholarly review of more than 40 publications in German and English from the late 19th to the mid-20th century.

Literature Summary: Surgeons who first contemplated approaching the cerebellopontine angle recognized that the shortest route from the surface was through the petrous bone.

Association of otosclerosis with Sp1 binding site polymorphism in COL1A1 gene: evidence for a shared genetic etiology with osteoporosis.

Hypothesis: There is an association between otosclerosis and osteoporosis.

Background: Both osteoporosis and otosclerosis are common bone diseases to which relatively large portions of the population are genetically predisposed. Recently, a strong association has been described between osteoporosis and an Sp1 binding site of putative functional significance in the first intron of the COL1A1 gene.