A double-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial of hydrogen inhalation therapy for idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Background: Hydrogen (H) has been reported to be effective in reducing hearing loss due to several causes in animal studies. However, no study has examined the effectiveness of H in treating hearing loss in humans. Thus, we investigated whether H is effective for the treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL).

Cartilage tympanoplasty for recurrent cholesteatoma using a single sliced cartilage graft: Our experience in 14 ears.

Our procedure may provide a useful alternative in cases where previous surgeries have failed to eradicate the cholesteatoma.

Volume-rendered computed tomography images of the surgical field for endolymphatic sac surgery.

Purpose: Identification of the endolymphatic sac has failed occasionally. Postoperative complications have also rarely been reported. Given a safer and more reliable surgery, preoperative anatomical assessments are valuable, however, the vestibular aqueduct has seldom been seen with multi-planar reconstruction (MPR) computed tomography (CT) images yet.

Japanese translation, cross-cultural adaption and multicentre validation of the Zurich chronic middle ear inventory (ZCMEI-21-Jap).

Objective: In the assessment of chronic otitis media (COM) and its treatment, patient-reported outcomes are becoming increasingly important. The aim of the present study was to translate and validate the Zurich chronic middle ear inventory (ZCMEI-21) in Japanese in order to provide the first Japanese-language instrument for measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in COM.

Methods: The ZCMEI-21 was translated into Japanese according to published guidelines.

The gray scale value of ear tissues undergoing volume-rendering high-resolution cone-beam computed tomography.

Objective: When the thresholds for VR reconstruction from multi-slice CT images are changed, problems develop when assessing pathologies in the absence of standardized thresholds. The advantages of CBCT include lower radiation exposure compared with other techniques and better visualization of small ear structures. However, a disadvantage is that the scanner provides unstandardized gray scale values, thus not CT numbers (Hounsfield units, HU).

Five-year postoperative outcomes of modified staged canal wall up tympanoplasty for primary acquired cholesteatoma.

Objective: For successful canal wall up tympanoplasty (CWUT) for the treatment of cholesteatoma, the restoration of stable middle ear aeration is also important; however, little is known about the dynamics of such aeration or the optimal surgical procedure. In this study, alternative additional surgical procedure was selected based on the grade of middle ear aeration during the second-stage operation.

Subjects And Methods: Patients included in this study underwent staged CWUT surgeries with mastoid cortex plasty (MCP) for well-aerated ears (grade 3) and bony mastoid obliteration (BMO) for poorly aerated ears (grade 2-0).

Osseous eustachian tube and peritubal cells in patients with unilateral cholesteatoma comparison between healthy and diseased sides using high-resolution cone-beam computed tomography.

Objectives: We investigated the factors that may possibly cause primary acquired cholesteatoma.

Setting: University-affiliated hospital.

Subjects And Methods: In 20 adult patients with unilateral cholesteatoma, the sizes of the osseous eustachian tubes (ETs) and the extent of peritubal and mastoid cell development in healthy and diseased ears were examined using high-resolution cone-beam computed tomography.

Clinical features, presenting symptoms, and surgical results of congenital cholesteatoma based on Potsic's staging system.

Conclusions: Potsic's staging system is a clinically useful procedure for evaluating the extent of congenital cholesteatoma (CC).

Objectives: We investigated the clinical features, presenting symptoms, and surgical results of CC according to Potsic's staging system.

Methods: A total of 71 patients who had undergone surgery at our hospital were retrospectively analyzed for presenting symptoms, the location of cholesteatoma, and surgical results according to Potsic's staging system.

Liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin alleviates hearing loss after transient cochlear ischemia: an experimental study in the gerbil.

The effects of liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin (LEH), an artificial oxygen carrier, were experimentally investigated in gerbils in the context of alleviation of hearing loss after transient cochlear ischemia. Animals were randomly assigned to receive 2 mL/kg of either LEH (P₅₀O₂=15 mmHg) or saline 1h after the experimental induction of 15 min of ischemia. Sequential recordings of auditory brainstem response (ABR) showed that administration of LEH prevented hearing loss due to cochlear ischemia.

Position of TORP on the stapes footplate assessed with cone beam computed tomography.

Objective: To improve hearing outcomes of ossiculoplasty with a total ossicular replacement prosthesis (TORP) in ears lacking a footplate superstructure, 3-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT) images were reconstructed to verify the position of the TORP on the footplate and contact between the TORP and the stapes footplate.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: University-affiliated tertiary referral center.

A case of pneumolabyrinth induced by Eustachian tube air inflation.

Objectives: Here, we report a case of pneumolabyrinth induced by Eustachian tube air inflation (ETAI) with a catheter and present evidence that multiple air bubbles entered the perilymphatic space through a preexisting oval window fistula.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Patient: Sixty-six-year-old woman.

Liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin alleviates hearing loss after transient cochlear ischemia and reperfusion in the gerbil.

To test liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin (LEH) in transient cochlear ischemia/reperfusion as a model of sudden deafness, Mongolian gerbils were randomly assigned to receive 2 mL/kg of either low-affinity LEH (l-LEH, P₅₀0₂ = 40 mm Hg), high-affinity LEH (h-LEH, P₅₀0₂ = 10 mm Hg), homologous red blood cells (RBCs), or saline (each group n = 6) 30 min before 15-min occlusion of the bilateral vertebral arteries and reperfusion. Sequential changes in hearing were assessed by auditory brain response 1, 4, and 7 days after ischemia/reperfusion, when the animals were sacrificed for pathological studies. h-LEH was significantly more protective than l-LEH in suppressing hearing loss, in contrast to RBC or saline treatment, at 8, 16, and 32 kHz, where hearing loss was most severe (P < 0.

Clinical features and outcomes of four patients with invasive fungal sinusitis.

Objective: The frequency of invasive fungal sinusitis (IFS) has increased in recent years with the use of steroids, onset of diabetes mellitus, and the administration of antibacterial agents. We report on the clinical features and outcomes of four patients with IFS involving the cavernous sinus and orbit. Prognostic factors facilitating an early diagnosis are described, and the usefulness of combination therapy involving systemic administration of antifungal agents and surgical intervention is discussed.

Prednisolone prevents transient ischemia-induced cochlear damage in gerbils.

Conclusions: Prednisolone protects against inner ear damage, even when administered after ischemic injury in Mongolian gerbils.

Objective: The effect of prednisolone on ischemia-induced cochlear damage was investigated in Mongolian gerbils.

Materials And Methods: The bilateral vertebral arteries were occluded for 15 min to transiently induce cochlear ischemia, followed by an intraperitoneal injection of prednisolone (1 mg/kg) or physiological saline (control).

Glutamate agonist causes irreversible degeneration of inner hair cells.

Glutamate neurotoxicity in cochlear hair cells was investigated by administering the glutamate agonist alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) into the scala tympani of Mongolian gerbils. AMPA administration caused the formation of large number of vacuoles in the inner hair cells (IHCs) and dendritic terminals. The number of degenerated hair cells was counted using rhodamine-phalloidin and Hoechst 33342 staining.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 treatment via hydrogels rescues cochlear hair cells from ischemic injury.

This study was designed to investigate the protective effects of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor 1 (rhIGF1), applied locally via a hydrogel, against ischemic damage of the cochleae in gerbils. A hydrogel was immersed in rhIGF1 or saline and was applied on the round window membrane 30 min after the ischemia. Local rhIGF1 treatment significantly reduced the elevation of auditory brain responses thresholds at a frequency of 8 kHz on days 1, 4, and 7 after ischemia.

Kanamycin ototoxicity in glutamate transporter knockout mice.

Glutamate-aspartate transporter (GLAST), a powerful glutamate uptake system, removes released glutamate from the synaptic cleft and facilitates the re-use of glutamate as a neurotransmitter recycling system. Aminoglycoside-induced hearing loss is mediated via a glutamate excitotoxic process. We investigated the effect of aminoglycoside ototoxicity in GLAST knockout mice using the recorded auditory brainstem response (ABR) and number of hair cells in the cochlea.

Free radical scavenger protects against inner hair cell loss after cochlear ischemia.

We investigated the protective effects of edaravone, a free radical scavenger, against ischemic damage of inner hair cells (IHCs) in gerbils. Cochlear ischemia was induced in the animals by occluding the vertebral arteries bilaterally for 15 min. Edaravone (1 mg/kg, i.

AMPA/kainate-type glutamate receptor antagonist reduces progressive inner hair cell loss after transient cochlear ischemia.

We investigated the effect of glutamate receptor antagonists on progressive inner hair cell (IHC) loss following transient cochlear ischemia in gerbils. Transient cochlear ischemia was induced by 15-min bilateral vertebral artery occlusion. An alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA)/kainate-type glutamate receptor antagonist, 6-7-dinitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (DNQX), or an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type receptor antagonist, MK-801, was administered 10 min before the ischemic insult.

Apoptotic hair cell death after transient cochlear ischemia in gerbils.

The mechanisms of cochlear hair cell death following exposure to transient inner ear ischemia were investigated in gerbils histologically. The animals were subjected to ischemic insult by occluding both vertebral arteries for 15 min. Hoechst 33342 nuclear staining showed that inner hair cells (IHCs) underwent sporadic degeneration via nuclear condensation, which peaked 12 hours after the ischemia.