Use of negative pressure wound therapy to treat a cochlear implant infection around the auricle: a case report.

Although negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is widely used, its application to the head and neck region remains challenging due to anatomical complexities. This report presents the case of a female patient presenting with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes, uncontrolled diabetes and severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. The patient had undergone cochlear implant surgery and five months later the wound was infected with methicillin-resistant (MRSA).

Partial requirement of endothelin receptor B in spiral ganglion neurons for postnatal development of hearing.

Impairments of endothelin receptor B (Ednrb/EDNRB) cause the development of Waardenburg-Shah syndrome with congenital hearing loss, hypopigmentation, and megacolon disease in mice and humans. Hearing loss in Waardenburg-Shah syndrome has been thought to be caused by an Ednrb-mediated congenital defect of melanocytes in the stria vascularis (SV) of inner ears. Here we show that Ednrb expressed in spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) in inner ears is required for postnatal development of hearing in mice.

Effect of hydrogen peroxide on potassium currents in inner hair cells isolated from guinea pig cochlea.

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is a ubiquitous reactive oxygen species that can induce several inner ear disorders. In this study, we recorded the potassium (K) currents in acutely isolated inner hair cells of guinea pig cochlea, and investigated the effects of H₂O₂. We also observed the morphological changes in inner hair cells induced by H₂O₂.

Property of I(K,)(n) in inner hair cells isolated from guinea-pig cochlea.

One of the potassium currents, I(K,)(n), is already activated at the resting potential of the cell and thus determines the membrane potential. KCNQ4 channel has been identified as the molecular correlate of I(K,)(n). In the present study, we measured I(K,)(n) in acutely isolated IHCs of guinea-pig cochlea using the whole-cell voltage-clamp techniques, and investigated the properties of the currents.

Mice lacking ganglioside GM3 synthase exhibit complete hearing loss due to selective degeneration of the organ of Corti.

The ganglioside GM3 synthase (SAT-I), encoded by a single-copy gene, is a primary glycosyltransferase for the synthesis of complex gangliosides. In SAT-I null mice, hearing ability, assessed by brainstem auditory-evoked potentials (BAEP), was impaired at the onset of hearing and had been completely lost by 17 days after birth (P17), showing a deformity in hair cells in the organ of Corti. By 2 months of age, the organ of Corti had selectively and completely disappeared without effect on balance or motor function or in the histology of vestibule.

Dihydrostreptomycin goes through the mechano-electric transduction channel in chick cochlear hair cells.

Objective: This study evaluated the ability of dihydrostreptomycin (DHSM) to go through the mechano-electric transduction (MET) channels in hair cells under physiological conditions.

Materials And Methods: Tall hair cells were isolated from the chick basilar membrane (cochlea). Mechanical stimulation was applied by a glass rod attached to a piezoelectric bimorph, and MET currents were recorded with a whole-cell patch technique.

Inactivating potassium currents in apical and basal turn inner hair cells from guinea-pig cochlea.

Tetraethylammonium (TEA)-sensitive potassium currents in the cochlear inner hair cells (IHCs) possess the kinetics of fast inactivation. IHCs of guinea-pigs were separately isolated from the apical and basal turns and the tonotopic gradient of inactivation kinetics was investigated. TEA-sensitive potassium currents showed voltage-dependent time constant of the inactivation phase both in apical and basal IHCs, however, the degree of inactivation (compared to the ratio between the steady-state current and initial peak current) was voltage-independent.