Habituation disorders in auditory middle latency response of persistent postural-perceptual dizziness patients.

Objectives: To study habituation disorders in auditory middle latency response (AMLR) to repetitive stimuli of persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) patients.

Subjects: Twenty-eight PPPD (10 men and 18 women, mean 59.5 years of age, 26-81 years of age) were enrolled.

The Caloric Test Is More Consistent With the Presence of Endolymphatic Hydrops Than the Vestibular-Evoked Myogenic Potential Test in Meniere's Disease.

Objective This study aimed to investigate the correlation between enhanced inner ear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and vestibular and cochlear function test results in patients with definite Meniere's disease and confirmed endolymphatic hydrops. Methods Among 70 consecutive patients diagnosed with definite Meniere's disease, 49 underwent contrast-enhanced 3-T inner ear MRI. The patients also underwent pure-tone audiometry, glycerol, caloric, and vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) tests.

High Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index Values in Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss Patients Indicate Better Prognosis.

Objective: Vascular disorders and viral infections are the presumed etiologies of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) and acute sensorineural hearing loss, with no identifiable cause. However, no clinical test for estimating the extent of vascular involvement in ISSNHL has been reported despite its potential impact on prognosis and treatment. We investigated the correlation between the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), which reflects arterial stiffness and elasticity, and hearing improvement to ascertain its usefulness as an additional indicator of ISSNHL prognosis and etiology.

Higher Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index Values in Patients With Vestibular Neuritis May Indicate a Better Prognosis.

Background: The presumed etiology of vestibular neuritis (VN), a sudden onset of spontaneous vertigo without auditory or cranial nerve symptoms, includes viral infections and vascular disorders. However, no clinical test for estimating vascular disorders in VN has been reported. Moreover, estimating the etiology of VN is important to predict the prognosis and select appropriate treatment.

Isolated bilateral posterior semicircular canal hypofunction: comparison with bilateral vestibulopathy.

Background: Chronic unsteadiness is a common complaint at vestibular clinics. Bilateral vestibulopathy (BVP) is a major cause of chronic unsteadiness but is often overlooked. Although diagnostic criteria for BVP have been established by the Barany Society, isolated vertical canal hypofunction can remain undiagnosed.

Association of cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential tuning property test results with MRI findings of endolymphatic hydrops in Meniere's disease.

Purpose: To examine the concordance between cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) tuning property test results and MRI findings of endolymphatic hydrops (EH).

Methods: Fourteen subjects (age 24-76 years) that had been diagnosed with unilateral definite Meniere's disease (MD) (N = 8) or unilateral probable MD (N = 6) were enrolled. All of the subjects underwent cVEMP tests (using 500 Hz and 1000 Hz tone bursts), pure-tone audiometry, and gadolinium-enhanced 3 T-MRI.

Two cases of Tullio phenomenon in which oval and round window reinforcement surgery was effective.

Aim: To report the effect of oval and round window reinforcement surgery performed in two patients with the Tullio phenomenon. Case 1: A male with bilateral superior canal dehiscence syndrome. Downbeat nystagmus with leftward horizontal eye movement was recorded in an electronystagmogram using a pure-tone sound of 110dB at 2000 or 4000Hz in the right ear.

Effects of nasal septum perforation repair on nasal airflow: An analysis using computational fluid dynamics on preoperative and postoperative three-dimensional models.

Objective: The purpose of this research is to examine the changes in nasal airflow dynamics before and after the nasal perforation repair.

Methods: Three dimensional (3D) models of the nasal cavity before and after septal perforation repair was reconstructed using preoperative and postoperative computed tomography (CT) images of a patient. The numerical simulation was carried out using ANSYS CFX V15.

Effects of nasal septum perforation repair surgery on three-dimensional airflow: an evaluation using computational fluid dynamics.

The purpose of this research is to determine the cause of nasal perforation symptoms and to predict post-operative function after nasal perforation repair surgery. A realistic three-dimensional (3D) model of the nose with a septal perforation was reconstructed using a computed tomography (CT) scan from a patient with nasal septal defect. The numerical simulation was carried out using ANSYS CFX V13.

The diagnostic value of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in patients with Meniere's disease.

Objective: To estimate the sensitivity and specificity of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) in comparison with caloric test in diagnosing Meniere's disease (MD) among patients with dizziness.

Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from 1,170 consecutive patients who underwent vestibular tests. Among them, 114 patients were diagnosed as having unilateral definite MD.

Expression of IL-33 and its receptor ST2 in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.

Objectives/hypothesis: Interleukin (IL)-33 is a novel member of the IL-1 cytokine family and a ligand for the orphan IL-1 family receptor ST2. IL-33 induces T helper 2-type inflammatory responses and is considered to play a crucial role in allergic inflammatory reactions such as asthma and atopic dermatitis. However, the role of IL-33 and its receptor ST2 in chronic rhinosinusitis remains unclear.

Evaluation of the internal structure of normal and pathological Guinea pig cochleae using optical coherence tomography.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) makes it possible to visualize the internal structures of several organs, such as the eye, in vivo. Although visualization of the internal structures of the inner ear has been used to try and identify certain pathological conditions, attempts have failed mainly due to the thick bony capsule surrounding this end organ. After decalcifying the bony wall of the cochlea with ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, we could clearly visualize its internal structures by using OCT.

Ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in response to air-conducted sound and bone-conducted vibration in vestibular schwannoma.

Objective: To clarify the origin and pathways of ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs) to air-conducted sound (ACS), we compared the results of oVEMPs with ACS, with oVEMPs with bone-conducted vibration (BCV), cervical VEMPs (cVEMPs) with ACS, and the caloric test in patients with unilateral vestibular schwannoma (VS).

Study Design: Retrospective review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Diagnostic usefulness of multifrequency tympanometry for Ménière's disease.

Multifrequency tympanometry (MFT) is the measurement of the impedance of the middle ear transmission system at a wide range of frequencies from 200 Hz to 2 kHz. A potential use of MFT as a new diagnostic tool for detecting endolymphatic hydrops has recently been reported. However, its clinical usefulness for diagnosing Ménière's disease (MD) remains unclear.

Effect of vestibular dysfunction on the development of gross motor function in children with profound hearing loss.

Objective: To evaluate the function of the superior and inferior vestibular nerve systems in children with profound sensorineural hearing loss, and to assess the influence of dysfunction of each vestibular nerve system on the development of gross motor function.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: A tertiary referral center.

Effect of severity of vestibular dysfunction on postural instability in idiopathic bilateral vestibulopathy.

Conclusions: Foam posturography reveals that idiopathic bilateral vestibulopathy (IBV) significantly affects postural stability. Instability was more severe in patients with damage to both of the vestibular nerve systems. Residual function in the spared vestibular nerve system might contribute to postural stability in IBV.

Developmental changes in the responsiveness of rat spiral ganglion neurons to neurotrophic factors in dissociated culture: differential responses for survival, neuritogenesis and neuronal morphology.

The way that the development of the inner ear innervation is regulated by various neurotrophic factors and/or their combinations at different postnatal developmental stages remains largely unclear. Moreover, survival and neuritogenesis in deafferented adult neurons is important for cochlear implant function. To address these issues, developmental changes in the responsiveness of postnatal rat spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs) to neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) were examined by using a dissociated cell culture system.

Clinical characteristics of inferior vestibular neuritis.

Conclusions: Inferior vestibular neuritis (IVN) is a relatively minor subtype of vestibular neuritis (VN) and its clinical characteristics are unique.

Objectives: To clarify clinical characteristics of IVN in comparison with conventional VN.

Methods: This was a retrospective case series review.

Bell's palsy in children: relationship between electroneurography findings and prognosis in comparison with adults.

Objectives: To investigate the correlation between electroneurography (ENoG) findings and the prognosis of Bell's palsy in children compared with adults.

Methods: Twenty-two children and 92 adults with Bell's palsy who underwent ENoG between 8 days and 4 weeks from the onset of symptoms were retrospectively enrolled. The time to maximal recovery and rate of favorable recovery (House-Brackmann grade I or II) was assessed.

The mitochondrial A3243G mutation involves the peripheral vestibule as well as the cochlea.

Objectives/hypothesis: To evaluate vestibular function in patients with the mitochondrial A3243G mutation.

Study Design: Data from patients with the A3243G mutation attending an academic tertiary referral center were prospectively recorded.

Methods: The clinical histories of 13 unrelated patients with the mitochondrial A3243G mutation (six mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes; and seven maternally inherited diabetes and deafness) were recorded, in particular their history of vestibular symptoms.

Age-related changes of the regeneration mode in the mouse peripheral olfactory system following olfactotoxic drug methimazole-induced damage.

We investigated age-related changes in the mode of regeneration in the mouse peripheral olfactory system after olfactotoxic drug-induced damage. Mice at postnatal ages of 10 days, 3 months, and 16 months were given an intraperitoneal injection of methimazole to produce damage in the olfactory neuroepithelium. The olfactory neuroepithelia were harvested and analyzed immunohistochemically at various postlesion timepoints, from 1 day through to 94 days, to investigate neuroepithelial cell proliferation, the time course of neuronal differentiation, the reconstitution of neuroepithelium, and the innervation of the olfactory bulb.

Unidirectional rotations produce asymmetric changes in horizontal VOR gain before and after unilateral labyrinthectomy in macaques.

Unilateral vestibular lesions cause marked asymmetry in the horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) during rapid head rotations, with VOR gain being lower for head rotations toward the lesion than for rotations in the opposite direction. Reducing this gain asymmetry by enhancing ipsilesional responses would be an important step toward improving gaze stability following vestibular lesions. To that end, there were two goals in this study.

Cephalic tetanus presenting as acute vertigo with bilateral vestibulopathy.

Cephalic tetanus is a rare form of tetanus, defined by paralysis of more than one cranial nerve. The seventh cranial nerve is the most frequently involved. We report a 58-year-old man with cephalic tetanus and bilateral vestibulopathy.