Stem Cell-Based Therapies for Auditory Hair Cell Regeneration in the Treatment of Hearing Loss.

The incidence and prevalence of hearing loss is increasing globally at an accelerated pace. Hair cells represent the sensory receptors of auditory and vestibular systems. Hair cell absence, loss or degeneration due to congenital diseases, trauma, toxicity, infection or advancing age, results in disabling hearing loss.

The Impact of Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media with and without Cholesteatoma in Patients from Northeastern Romania.

Quality of life is a widely used concept that tends to become an important part of clinical management. The present study performs an analysis of the impact of suppurative chronic otitis media with and without cholesteatoma on quality of life, using the COMQ-12 questionnaire. It was applied to a group of 40 healthy people and to 40 patients before surgery, and the answers to the questions were analyzed and correlated with socioeconomic factors.

IL-1α, IL-6 and IL-8 serum values in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media.

Inflammatory mediators play an important role in the pathogenesis of otitis media by initiating and maintaining an inflammatory response to infection. The presence of inflammatory mediators may be one of the reasons, in some patients, for acute otitis media transforming into chronic otitis media. The present study included 60 patients admitted to the Clinical Rehabilitation Hospital, Iasi, Romania, for surgery.

Genetics of Hearing Impairment in North-Eastern Romania-A Cost-Effective Improved Diagnosis and Literature Review.

Background: We have investigated the main genetic causes for non-syndromic hearing impairment (NSHI) in the hearing impairment individuals from the North-Eastern Romania and proposed a cost-effective diagnosis protocol.

Methods: MLPA followed by Sanger Sequencing were used for all 291 patients included in this study.

Results: MLPA revealed abnormal results in 141 cases (48.

Saccular function evolution related to cochlear implantation in hearing impaired children.

Vestibular sensorial input is essential for psychomotor development of the very small children. In consequence, possible vestibular impairment induced by cochlear implantation in deaf children could affect the balance and walking learning process. Some of cochlear implanted children can present congenital vestibular deficit.

Correlations between HPV, p53 and p16 in malignancies involving the retromolar trigone-oropharynx junction.

The aim of this study is to enhance knowledge regarding the behavior of human papilloma virus (HPV)-associated malignancies between two territories - maxillofacial and otorhinolaryngology. The HPV status and genotype, p16 and p53 expression were performed in 50 patients with malignancies located at the junction between the oropharynx and retromolar trigone alone or oropharynx spread to the junction. These were correlated with the treatment response, prognosis and survival of this kind of tumor located in oral posterior region, marking the transition between two territories (maxillofacial and otorhinolaryngology) of the selected cases.

The role of HPV infection in oropharyngeal cancer.

Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has been recognized as a distinct disease entity associated with oral HPV infection with high-risk serotypes, mainly among white man at younger age. Lifetime number of oral sex partners of HPV-positive OPSCC patients is the strongest risk factor associated. HPV type 16 is now established as oncogenic and it is the main cause (over the 80%) of this type of OPSCC, followed by HPV 18 (3%).

Vestibular sensory functional status of cochlear implanted ears versus non-implanted ears in bilateral profound deaf adults.

Patients with hearing loss who underwent cochlear implantation can present symptomatic or asymptomatic vestibular damages earlier or later after the surgery. The vestibular permanent lesions could be acute, produced by surgical trauma or could be progressive due to local morphological changes made by the presence of the portelectrode in the inner ear (fibrosis related, ossification, basilar membrane distortion, endolymphatic hydrops). Besides histopathological findings in inner ear of cochlear implanted patients, the vestibular permanent damages could be found by assessment of clinical vestibular status.