Assessment of cricopharyngeal muscle aging with apoptotic markers.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate histochemical markers of apoptosis in the cricopharyngeus muscle, which is the gatekeeper of the pharyngoesophageal region during the swallowing process; to investigate the effects of primary aging on this muscle; and to determine whether a relationship exists with gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Materials And Methods: The study included 30 fresh cadavers with a time of death of 12 hours or less obtained from the Turkish Ministry of Justice Forensic Medicine Unit. All cadavers were dissected with routine postmortem skin incisions to extract specimens from the cricopharyngeus muscle and the esophagocardiac junction mucosa.

Medium-term results of combined treatment with transcranial magnetic stimulation and antidepressant drug for chronic tinnitus.

We compared the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and paroxetine [a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)] on tinnitus in terms of effectiveness and medium-term results. This is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Seventy-five patients with moderate tinnitus were divided into five equal groups.

Watch peripheral arterial tonometry in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea: influence of aging.

Objectives/hypothesis: To investigate the consequences of aging and associated peripheral vascular tone impairment on peripheral arterial tonometry (Watch PAT)-based sleep and respiratory disturbance analysis in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) diagnosis.

Study Design: Prospective, nonrandomized, clinical trial.

Methods: A total of 56 subjects with age ranges of 20 to 35 years (group I, n = 27) and 50 to 65 years (group II, n = 29) referred to the sleep laboratory for overnight polysomnography (PSG) with suspected OSA were enrolled.

Cricopharyngeal muscle electromyography findings in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.

Objective: To analyze the grade of reflux and the behavior of the cricopharyngeal muscle (CPM) in patients with gastroesophageal reflux (GER) by means of electromyographic (EMG) analysis of CPM.

Study Design: Prospective clinical study.

Setting: Istanbul Training and Research Hospital.

Factors influencing the outcome of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is an otologic emergency with an incidence of about 5-20 per 100,000 of the population per year. There is no universally accepted standard protocol for the treatment of patients with ISSNHL. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), was first reported to improve the outcome following acute inner ear disorders during the late 1960s by both French and German authors.