Improved Speech Intelligibility in Subjects With Stable Sensorineural Hearing Loss Following Intratympanic Dosing of FX-322 in a Phase 1b Study.

Objectives: There are no approved pharmacologic therapies for chronic sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The combination of CHIR99021+valproic acid (CV, FX-322) has been shown to regenerate mammalian cochlear hair cells ex vivo. The objectives were to characterize the cochlear pharmacokinetic profile of CV in guinea pigs, then measure FX-322 in human perilymph samples, and finally assess safety and audiometric effects of FX-322 in humans with chronic SNHL.

Future research and collaboration: the "SINERGIE" project on HCV (South Italian Network for Rational Guidelines and International Epidemiology).

The SINERGIE (South Italian Network for Rational Guidelines and International Epidemiology) project is intended to set up a collaborative network comprising virologists, clinicians and public health officials dealing with patients affected by HCV disease in the Calabria Region. A prospective observational data-base of HCV infection will be developed and used for studies on HCV natural history, response to treatment, pharmaco-economics, disease complications, and HCV epidemiology (including phylogenetic analysis). With this approach, we aim at improving the identification and care of patients, focusing on upcoming research questions.

Vascular catheters with a nonleaching poly-sulfobetaine surface modification reduce thrombus formation and microbial attachment.

Adherence of proteins, cells, and microorganisms to the surface of venous catheters contributes to catheter occlusion, venous thrombosis, thrombotic embolism, and infections. These complications lengthen hospital stays and increase patient morbidity and mortality. Current technologies for inhibiting these complications are limited in duration of efficacy and may induce adverse side effects.

Experiences with laser bronchoscopy.

Laser bronchoscopy was performed 87 times in 58 patients over a three-year period at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital. Fifty-six patients (97 percent) had malignant disease, including bronchogenic carcinoma (46), metastatic neoplasm to bronchus or lung (eight), or direct extension of esophageal carcinoma (two); benign pathology included tracheal papillomatosis (one) and granulation tissue (one). Eighty-six percent of tumors were proximally located (trachea, carina, mainstem bronchi).