Individual Biomarkers Using Molecular Personalized Medicine Approaches.

Molecular personalized medicine tries to generate individual predictive biomarkers to assist doctors in their decision making. These are thought to improve the efficacy and lower the toxicity of a treatment. The molecular basis of the desired high-precision prediction is modern "omex" technologies providing high-throughput bioanalytical methods.

Risk factors for nasal malignancies in German men: the South-German Nasal cancer study.

Background: There are few studies of the effects of nasal snuff and environmental factors on the risk of nasal cancer. This study aimed to investigate the impact of using nasal snuff and of other risk factors on the risk of nasal cancer in German men.

Methods: A population-based case-control study was conducted in the German Federal States of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.

Induction chemotherapy with paclitaxel and cisplatin followed by radiotherapy for larynx organ preservation in advanced laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer offers moderate late toxicity outcome (DeLOS-I-trial).

A prospective multicenter phase-II trial (12 centers) was performed by the German larynx organ preservation group (DeLOS) to evaluate the effect of induction chemotherapy (ICHT) with paclitaxel/cisplatin (TP), followed by accelerated-hyperfractionated (concomitant boost) radiotherapy (RT) in responders. The trial was focused on larynx preservation, tumor control, survival, salvage surgery and late toxicity in patients with advanced larynx/hypopharynx carcinoma eligible for total laryngectomy (LE). Seventy-one patients (40 larynx, 87.

Test-retest repeatability of distortion product otoacoustic emissions.

Objectives: Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) have become part of routine audiological diagnostics. The large scale of clinical DPOAE applications, such as screening of hearing in infants, objective estimation of hearing status, distinction between cochlear and retrocochlear origin of sensorineural hearing loss, exclusion of psychogenic hearing loss, monitoring of hearing during administration of ototoxic drugs, and others illustrates the significance of this audiological tool. In all diagnostic tests, knowledge about the procedure's test-retest repeatability is of crucial importance, to allow for distinction between measurement deviations and true physiological or pathological changes in monitoring over time.

Tinnitus sensitization: a neurophysiological pathway of chronic complex tinnitus.

A novel neuro- and psychophysiological pathway for central cognition of tinnitus, i.e. tinnitus sensitization, is presented here.

Tinnitus sensitization: Sensory and psychophysiological aspects of a new pathway of acquired centralization of chronic tinnitus.

Objective: Acquired centralized tinnitus (ACT) is the most frequent form of chronic tinnitus. The proposed ACT sensitization (ACTS) assumes a peripheral initiation of tinnitus whereby sensitizing signals from the auditory system establish new neuronal connections in the brain. Consequently, permanent neurophysiological malfunction within the information-processing modules results.

In vitro model for intraoperative adjustments in an implantable hearing aid (MET).

Objective: Assessment of the optimal static preloading of Otologics Middle Ear Transducer (MET) Ossicular Stimulator, when coupled to the incus.

Background: The MET Ossicular Stimulator is a partially implantable electromagnetic middle ear hearing device that transmits vibrations to the ossicular chain. The vibration patterns were measured with laser-Doppler vibrometry.

Papillomavirus E2 protein induces expression of the matrix metalloproteinase-9 via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase/activator protein-1 signaling pathway.

Papillomaviruses are involved in the development of cancers of the female cervix, head and neck, and skin. An excellent model to study papillomavirus-induced tumor induction and progression is the New Zealand White rabbit, where the skin is infected with the cottontail rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV). This leads to the formation of benign tumors that progress into invasive and metastasizing carcinomas without the need for cofactors.

Genetic heterogeneity of deafness phenotypes linked to DFNA4.

Mutations in the heavy chain of the class II nonmuscle myosin, MYH14, cause autosomal dominant hearing loss in families linked to the DFNA4 locus. Consistent with this discovery, we identified an S120L mutation in MYH14 in a large German family segregating deafness that links to DFNA4. However, complete screening of the American family that originally defined the DFNA4 locus revealed no mutations in this gene.

Surgical-handling properties of the titanium prosthesis in ossiculoplasty.

Despite the wide variety of ossiculoplasty techniques that are available, success rates are limited. Current use indicates that surgeons prefer ceramic, autograft bone, and plastic pore prostheses. During the past decade, titanium prostheses have been used with great promise.

The p38 SAPK pathway is required for Ha-ras induced in vitro invasion of NIH3T3 cells.

Constitutive activation of the ras oncoprotein plays a critical role in cancer invasion and metastasis. Particularly, ras-related protease expression such as the serine protease urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA) has been implicated in mediating cancer cell invasion. Previous studies have shown that ras-mediated u-PA expression is regulated through the mitogen- (MAPK) and stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) signal transduction pathways extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun-activating kinase (JNK).

Safe and reliable sound threshold measures with direct vibration of the ossicular chain.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of piezoelectric malleus vibration audiometer (MVA), which presents micromechanical vibrations to the umbo membranae tympani.

Study Design: Phase I study performed in a tertiary referral center (University Hospital).

Methods: The coupling rod of the MVA was moved slowly through the outer ear canal toward the eardrum with a micromanipulator.

Patient selection for incus body coupling of a totally implantable middle ear implant.

Objective: To evaluate audiologic selection criteria for incus body coupling (IBC) of a totally implantable middle ear implant (TI-MEI) for the treatment of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL).

Material And Methods: The protocol is specified in the Investigational Device Exemption of a Food and Drug Administration-approved multicenter clinical trial. The prospective study compared pre- and postoperative hearing levels using each patient as their own control.

A behavioral paradigm to judge acute sodium salicylate-induced sound experience in rats: a new approach for an animal model on tinnitus.

Behavioral conditioning studies on rats have been proven to be a valid animal model for the evaluation of acute and chronic phantom auditory experience (tinnitus). We developed an animal model for short-term, acute induced phantom auditory sensations in rats. Rats were trained in a conditioning chamber to actively access a liquid feeder whenever a constant white noise sound was present.

Second family with hearing impairment linked to 19q13 and refined DFNA4 localisation.

Until now, over 30 loci have been identified by linkage analysis of affected families that segregate non-syndromic and dominantly inherited forms of hearing impairment (DFNA). A German family with a non-syndromic progressive hearing impairment transmitted in autosomal dominant mode was linked to 19q13.3-q13.