The effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on the final outcome of patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Purpose: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of the combination of systemic steroids (SS) and hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).

Materials And Methods: Fifty patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss were allocated into 2 groups: the control group received Dexamethasone IV (SS) and the therapy group received Dexamethasone IV combined with 15 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (SS + HBOT) as initial treatment. Hearing assessment was performed at the admission to hospital and 3 months after the onset of treatment.

Clinically isolated syndrome manifested as acute vestibular syndrome: bedside neuro-otological examination and suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions in the differential diagnosis.

A case of a 34-year old woman with acute vestibular syndrome caused by a demyelinating lesion in the root entry zone of the 8th cranial nerve is presented. Neuro-otological bedside examination and suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions provided objective clinical evidence of a retrolabyrinthine lesion. Magnetic resonance imaging and the presence of oligoclonal IgG bands in cerebrospinal fluid analysis established the diagnosis of clinically isolated syndrome.

Corticosteroids and vestibular exercises in vestibular neuritis. Single-blind randomized clinical trial.

IMPORTANCE The management of patients with unilateral acute vestibular neuritis (VN) has not been established to date. OBJECTIVE To compare the use of vestibular exercises vs corticosteroid therapy in the recovery of patients with acute VN. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Prospective, single-blind, randomized clinical trial at a primary referral center.

Bilateral secondary neurolymphomatosis of the internal auditory canal nerves: a case report.

Background: Neurolymphomatosis describes the malignant lymphomatous infiltration of nerves.

Methods: We encountered a unique case of a 47-year-old patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presenting with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, vestibular dysfunction and bilateral facial nerve palsy.

Results: Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated enhancement and thickening of internal auditory canal nerves bilaterally consistent with neurolymphomatosis.

Carbon dioxide balneotherapy and cardiovascular disease.

Carbon dioxide (CO(2)) balneotherapy is a kind of remedy with a wide spectrum of applications which have been used since the Middle Ages. However, its potential use as an adjuvant therapeutic option in patients with cardiovascular disease is not yet fully clarified. We performed a thorough review of MEDLINE Database, EMBASE, ISI WEB of Knowledge, COCHRANE database and sites funded by balneotherapy centers across Europe in order to recognize relevant studies and aggregate evidence supporting the use of CO(2) baths in various cardiovascular diseases.

Corticosteroids in the treatment of vestibular neuritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To systematically review and meta-analyze the results of all randomized controlled trials comparing corticosteroids with placebo for the treatment of patients with vestibular neuritis.

Data Sources: An electronic search was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and CENTRAL databases, and then extensive hand-searching was performed for the identification of relevant studies. No time and language limitations were applied.