Retrosigmoid versus translabyrinthine approach to acoustic neuroma resection: A comparative cost-effectiveness analysis.

Objectives/hypothesis: Approach-specific economic data of acoustic neuroma (AN) resection is lacking. The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare adjusted total hospital costs, hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), and associated factors in AN patients undergoing resection by translabyrinthine (TL) approach versus retrosigmoid (RS) approach.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Noddy, a mouse harboring a missense mutation in protocadherin-15, reveals the impact of disrupting a critical interaction site between tip-link cadherins in inner ear hair cells.

In hair cells of the inner ear, sound or head movement increases tension in fine filaments termed tip links, which in turn convey force to mechanosensitive ion channels to open them. Tip links are formed by a tetramer of two cadherin proteins: protocadherin 15 (PCDH15) and cadherin 23 (CDH23), which have 11 and 27 extracellular cadherin (EC) repeats, respectively. Mutations in either protein cause inner ear disorders in mice and humans.

Positron Emission Tomography in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary.

This article summarizes selected published studies on the use of FDG-PET and PET/CT in the workup of head and neck carcinoma of unknown primary (HNCUP). It shows that PET is a useful imaging modality in identification of the occult primary tumor and discovery of distant metastases. The results of PET often lead to a change in management in these patients.