Audiologic Status of Children with Confirmed Cytomegalovirus Infection: a Case Series.

Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is the most common non-genetic cause of sensorineural hearing loss (SHNL) in children. Only about 10% to 15% of children with congenital CMV are symptomatic, and most are not diagnosed at birth. About 7% to 15% of clinically asymptomatic patients may develop later complications, including SNHL, which is the most common sequela in clinically asymptomatic patients.

Clusterin is highly expressed in tubular complexes during spontaneous pancreatitis of spontaneous hypertensive rats.

Pancreatitis is an inflammatory disorder of pancreas which leads to varying degrees of pancreatic endocrine and exocrine dysfunction and manifests in either acute or chronic forms. Spontaneous pancreatitis in experimental animals has rarely been reported. Here, we found acute to chronic courses of spontaneous pancreatitis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), showing the formation of tubular complexes (TCs) and enhanced islet regeneration.

Role of Emotional Distress in Prolongation of Dizziness: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background And Objectives: Dizziness is a common condition in outpatient clinics. Comorbid conditions such as anxiety and/or depression often complicate a patient's ability to cope with dizziness. The purpose of the present study was to explore the extent of psychiatric distress using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and to compare the results with the subjective severity of dizziness.

Hearing Preservation During Cochlear Implantation and Electroacoustic Stimulation in Patients With SLC26A4 Mutations.

Background And Objectives: Patients with SCL26A4 mutations presenting with Mondini deformity and enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA) tend to have comparable residual hearing. Although cochlear implantation (CI) produces good results in this group, deterioration of residual hearing can be an adverse event after surgery due to accompanying cochlear malformation and perilymph leakage during cochleostomy. The purpose of this study was to investigate if CI in patients with SCL26A4 mutations via the round window (RW) approach could achieve preservation of residual hearing, and to evaluate their speech reception with electroacoustic stimulation (EAS).

Audiologic limitations of Vibrant Soundbridge device: Is the contralateral hearing aid fitting indispensable?

Objectives/hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the audiologic limitations of the Vibrant Soundbridge (VSB) implant and the benefits of contralateral hearing aid (HA) fitting in VSB recipients.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Methods: Twenty-three patients with symmetrical sensorineural or mixed hearing loss were enrolled in this study.

Electrogenic transport and K(+) ion channel expression by the human endolymphatic sac epithelium.

The endolymphatic sac (ES) is a cystic organ that is a part of the inner ear and is connected to the cochlea and vestibule. The ES is thought to be involved in inner ear ion homeostasis and fluid volume regulation for the maintenance of hearing and balance function. Many ion channels, transporters, and exchangers have been identified in the ES luminal epithelium, mainly in animal studies, but there has been no functional study investigating ion transport using human ES tissue.

Early deterioration of residual hearing in patients with SLC26A4 mutations.

Objectives/hypothesis: To compare changes in hearing in patients with SLC26A4 during early and late childhood.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Methods: A total of 102 patients with biallelic SLC26A4 mutations visited the tertiary referral otolaryngology department between March 2005 and February 2015.

Quality of Life in Patients With Vestibular Schwannomas According to Management Strategy.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life of patients treated for unilateral vestibular schwannoma via observation, microsurgery, or gamma knife radiosurgery.

Study Design: The study design was retrospective and cross-sectional.

Methods: Patients treated for vestibular schwannoma at our institute in 2012-2013 completed a standardized questionnaire (Short Form-36) via telephone to evaluate their quality of life at least 6 months after treatment.

Obesity Resistance and Enhanced Insulin Sensitivity in Ahnak-/- Mice Fed a High Fat Diet Are Related to Impaired Adipogenesis and Increased Energy Expenditure.

Objective: Recent evidence has suggested that AHNAK expression is altered in obesity, although its role in adipose tissue development remains unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the molecular mechanism by which Ahnak influences adipogenesis and glucose homeostasis.

Design: We investigated the in vitro role of AHNAK in adipogenesis using adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) and C3H10T1/2 cells.

Long-Term Outcomes of Acute Low-Tone Hearing Loss.

Background And Objectives: Although acute low-tone hearing loss has been associated with cochlear hydrops or early stage Meniere's disease, its prognosis in the short-term has been reported to be better than sudden hearing loss. However, recurrence of hearing loss and possible progression to Meniere's disease remain important concerns in the clinical setting. This study aims to investigate the long-term audiological outcomes of acute low-tone hearing loss.

A Case of Incus Vibroplasty: Postoperative Changes in Residual Hearing.

In patients with mild to severe hearing loss, conventional hearing aids offer limited benefits and several problems with feedback and cosmesis. Middle ear implants are a feasible option for patients with moderate to severe hearing loss who are unable to achieve adequate benefit from or cannot tolerate hearing aids for various reasons. Here we present a case of middle ear implant surgery using Vibrant Soundbridge with incus vibroplasty technique, and describe the hearing changes during postoperative follow-up.

Improvement of sudden bilateral hearing loss after vertebral artery stenting.

Bilateral deafness is a rare but possible symptom of vertebrobasilar ischemia. We report a case of sudden bilateral sensorineural hearing loss caused by bilateral vertebral artery (VA) occlusion which dramatically improved after stenting. A 54-year-old man was admitted with sudden onset of bilateral deafness, vertigo, and drowsy mental status.

Improvement of sudden bilateral hearing loss after vertebral artery stenting.

Bilateral deafness is a rare but possible symptom of vertebrobasilar ischemia. We report a case of sudden bilateral sensorineural hearing loss caused by bilateral vertebral artery (VA) occlusion which dramatically improved after stenting. A 54-year-old man was admitted with sudden onset of bilateral deafness, vertigo, and drowsy mental status.

High aldehyde dehydrogenase activity enhances stem cell features in breast cancer cells by activating hypoxia-inducible factor-2α.

High aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity has been recognized as a marker of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in breast cancer. In this study, we examined whether inhibition of ALDH activity suppresses stem-like cell properties in a 4T1 syngeneic mouse model of breast cancer. We found that ALDH-positive 4T1 cells showed stem cell-like properties in vitro and in vivo.

Dysadherin expression promotes the motility and survival of human breast cancer cells by AKT activation.

High dysadherin expression has been recognized as a biological predictor of metastasis and poor prognosis for many different cancer types; however, the molecular mechanisms of how dysadherin affects cancer progression are still poorly understood. In this study, we examined whether AKT signaling could link dysadherin expression with downstream events that promote the metastatic potential of human breast cancer cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of breast cancer tissues showed that dysadherin expression was highly associated with elevated expression of phospho-AKT.

Dysadherin can enhance tumorigenesis by conferring properties of stem-like cells to hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

Background & Aims: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with a high potential for metastasis and disease recurrence, even after surgical resection. The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis proposes that CSCs are responsible for chemo-resistance, recurrence, and metastasis. Dysadherin is a prognostic indicator of metastasis and poor survival in many different cancer types.

Ras activation contributes to the maintenance and expansion of Sca-1pos cells in a mouse model of breast cancer.

The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis proposes that CSCs are the root of cancer and cause cancer metastasis and recurrence. In this study, we examined whether Ras signaling is associated with stemness of the CSCs population characterized by the stem cell antigen (Sca-1) phenotype in a 4T1 syngeneic mouse model of breast cancer. The Sca-1(pos) putative CSCs had high levels of activated Ras and phosphorylated MEK (p-MEK), compared with counterparts.

Liver X receptor mediates hepatitis B virus X protein-induced lipogenesis in hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma.

Unlabelled: Although hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) has been implicated in abnormal lipid metabolism in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-associated hepatic steatosis, its underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. Liver X receptor (LXR) plays an important role in regulating the expression of genes involved in hepatic lipogenesis. Here we demonstrate that LXRalpha and LXRbeta mediate HBV-associated hepatic steatosis.

Cyst formation in kidney via B-Raf signaling in the PKD2 transgenic mice.

The pathogenic mechanisms of human autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) have been well known to include the mutational inactivation of PKD2. Although haploinsufficiency and loss of heterozygosity at the Pkd2 locus can cause cyst formation in mice, polycystin-2 is frequently expressed in the renal cyst of human ADPKD, raising the possibility that deregulated activation of PKD2 may be associated with the cystogenesis of human ADPKD. To determine whether increased PKD2 expression is physiologically pathogenic, we generated PKD2-overexpressing transgenic mice.

Induction of telomerase activity during an early burst of proliferation in pancreatic regeneration.

Telomerase activity (TA) and telomerase reverse transcriptase (rTERT) were investigated in Sprague-Dawley rats, killed at 6 and 12 h, and 1, 2, 3, 7, and 14 days after 90% pancreatectomy (px), by TRAPeze enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay telomerase detection and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. TA increased at 2 days and reached a maximum at 3 days after px, when the small ductules showed the highest proliferation activity. After 3 days, TA decreased to basal levels as the ductules differentiated into new endocrine and exocrine pancreas.

Peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-gamma upregulates glucokinase gene expression in beta-cells.

Thiazolidinediones, synthetic ligands of peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma), improve peripheral insulin sensitivity and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in pancreatic beta-cells. To explore the role of PPAR-gamma in glucose sensing of beta-cells, we have dissected the beta-cell-specific glucokinase (betaGK) promoter, which constitutes glucose-sensing apparatus in pancreatic beta-cells, and identified a peroxisomal proliferator response element (PPRE) in the promoter. The betaGK-PPRE is located in the region between +47 and +68 bp.