Do the genes that cause otosclerosis reduce susceptibility to otitis media?

Hypothesis: The genetic factors that cause otosclerosis reduce susceptibility to otitis media.

Background: Susceptibility to some infectious diseases is modulated by host genetic factors. Genes that reduce the morbidity and mortality of infectious diseases may confer a selective advantage and achieve high-frequency in at-risk populations.

Linkage of otosclerosis to a third locus (OTSC3) on human chromosome 6p21.3-22.3.

Clinical otosclerosis (OMIM 166800/605727) has a prevalence of 0.2-1% among white adults, making it the single most common cause of hearing impairment in this group. It is caused by abnormal bone homeostasis of the otic capsule with the consequent development of sclerotic foci that invade the stapedio-vestibular joint (oval window) interfering with free motion of the stapes.

Otorhinolaryngology through the works of Hippocrates.

This retrospective survey refers to the philosophers and first scientists of the pre-Hippocratic era, which included the foundation of schools in Greece at the time (e.g. Ionia, South Sicily, Kyrinia).

Synaptic alterations in the vestibulocerebellar system in Alzheimer's disease--a Golgi and electron microscope study.

Alzheimer's disease is one of the main causes of cognitive impairment in the presenium and senium. Despite increased efforts in investigations of the aetiological background of the disease, most of the pathogenetic mechanisms remain unclear. From the morphological point of view, neurofibrillary degeneration and neuritic plaques, the main hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease, are mostly seen in the hippocampus and the cortex of the cerebral hemispheres.