Ototoxicity of Long-Term α-Difluoromethylornithine for Skin Cancer Prevention.

Objective: Evaluate the effects of α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) on hearing thresholds as part of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Methods: Subjects were randomized and assigned to the control (placebo) or experimental (DFMO) group. DFMO or placebo were administered orally (500 mg/m /day) for up to 5 years.

Evaluation of Nestin Expression in the Developing and Adult Mouse Inner Ear.

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the capacity to proliferate and form mature tissue-specific cell types. Nestin is an intermediate filament protein used to identify cells with stem cell characteristics. Its expression has been observed in a population of cells in developing and adult cochleae.

Characterization of a unique cell population marked by transgene expression in the adult cochlea of nestin-CreER(T2)/tdTomato-reporter mice.

Hair cells in the adult mammalian cochlea cannot spontaneously regenerate after damage, resulting in the permanency of hearing loss. Stem cells have been found to be present in the cochlea of young rodents; however, there has been little evidence for their existence into adulthood. We used nestin-CreER(T2)/tdTomato-reporter mice to trace the lineage of putative nestin-expressing cells and their progeny in the cochleae of adult mice.