Azathioprine reduces the risk of audiometric relapse in immune-mediated hearing loss.

Introduction: Current schemes for treatment of immune-mediated hearing loss with sporadic short-course, low-dose corticosteroids, are insufficient.

Methods: To determine the role of azathioprine in the control of auditory impairment, a longitudinal, observational, descriptive study was performed with 20 patients treated with azathioprine (1.5-2.

pH-sensitive polymeric nanoparticles with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties against cisplatin-induced hearing loss.

Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) based on smart synthetic amphiphilic copolymers are used to transport and controlled release dexamethasone in the inner ear to protect against the ototoxic effect of cisplatin. The NPs were based on a mixture of two pseudo-block polymer drugs obtained by free radical polymerization: poly(VI-co-HEI) and poly(VP-co-MVE) or poly(VP-co-MTOS), being VI 1-vinylimidazole, VP N-vinylpyrrolidone, and HEI, MVE and MTOS the methacrylic derivatives of ibuprofen, α-tocopherol and α-tocopheryl succinate, respectively. The NPs were obtained by nanoprecipitation with appropriate hydrodynamic properties, and isoelectric points that matched the pH of inflamed tissue.

Analysis of audiometric relapse-free survival in patients with immune-mediated hearing loss exclusively treated with corticosteroids.

Objective: To describe the results in terms of audiometric relapse-free survival and relapse rate in immunomediated hearing loss patients treated exclusively with corticosteroids.

Method: Retrospective study of patients with audiometric relapses, monitored from 1995 to 2014, in two centres of the Community of Madrid.

Results: We evaluated 31 patients with a mean age of 48.

Polymeric nanoparticles loaded with dexamethasone or α-tocopheryl succinate to prevent cisplatin-induced ototoxicity.

Unlabelled: The aim of this work is the development of highly protective agents to be administered locally within the middle ear to avoid cisplatin-induced ototoxicity, which affects to 100% of the clinical patients at ultra-high concentrations (16mg/kg). The protective agents are based on polymeric nanoparticles loaded with dexamethasone or α-tocopheryl succinate as anti-inflammarory and anti-apoptotic molecules. Dexamethasone and α-tocopheryl succinate are poorly soluble in water and present severe side effects when systemic administered during long periods of time.

Spontaneous Cannabinoid Receptor 2 (CB2) Expression in the Cochlea of Adult Albino Rat and Its Up-Regulation after Cisplatin Treatment.

We provide evidence for the presence of cannabinoid CB2 receptors in some cellular types of the cochlea of the adult albino rat. Cannabinoids and their receptors are increasingly being studied because of their high potential for clinical use. As a hyperspecialized portion of the peripheral nervous system, study of the expression and function of cannabinoid receptors in the hearing organ is of high interest.

Otoprotective properties of 6α-methylprednisolone-loaded nanoparticles against cisplatin: In vitro and in vivo correlation.

Unlabelled: 6α-Methylprednisolone-loaded surfactant-free nanoparticles have been developed to palliate cisplatin ototoxicity. Nanoparticles were based on two different amphiphilic pseudo-block copolymers obtained by free radical polymerization and based on N-vinyl pyrrolidone and a methacrylic derivative of α-tocopheryl succinate or α-tocopherol. Copolymers formed spherical nanoparticles by nanoprecipitation in aqueous media that were able to encapsulate 6α-methylprednisolone in their inner core.

Noncholesteatomatous Cyst of the Tympanic Membrane: A Nonpublished Entity?

Introduction. The presence of a serous cyst in the tympanic membrane implies the description of a new or unpublished entity based on our knowledge whose origin may be very unlikely explained on actual embryologic and anatomic background. Clinical Case.

New prospects in the diagnosis and treatment of immune-mediated inner ear disease.

Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED) represents a very fertile research field and the advancements in the understanding of this disease have a direct application not only in patients affected with this condition but also in other inner ear disorders that share the same injury mechanism, damage to the inner ear hair cells. AIED also presents many challenges that have still to be overcome. Firstly, access to the inner ear is limited, as many interventions such as biopsies can result in great irreversible damage.

Hemangiopericytoma of the parapharyngeal space: a diagnostic challenge.

Parapharyngeal space tumors are known for having a difficult approach, misleading diagnosis and for representing a treatment challenge. Hemangiopericytomas account for less than 1% of all vascular neoplasms and 3% of all soft tissue sarcomas. Only 14 cases have been reported in the worldwide literature in this location.

Review of the biologic agents used for immune-mediated inner ear disease.

Introduction And Objectives: Immune-mediated inner ear disease (IMIED) is one of the few reversible forms of sensorineural hearing loss. Treatment is based on high-dose corticosteroids, although long-term therapy is associated with serious adverse effects; this has led to the use of other agents or different routes of administration such as transtympanic delivery. This study analyses the role of biological agents in IMIED management.

Reactive oxygen species in apoptosis induced by cisplatin: review of physiopathological mechanisms in animal models.

Cisplatin is a highly effective chemotherapeutic agent but displays significant ototoxic side effects. The most prominent change seen in the cochlea after cisplatin administration consists of loss of outer hair cells. Several mechanisms are believed to mediate cisplatin-induced apoptosis: binding of cisplatin to guanine bases on DNA and the formation of inter- and intra-strand chain cross-linking, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with increased lipid peroxidation and Ca(2+) influx and, finally, inflammation mediated by cisplatin.

Patient-derived olfactory mucosa cells but not lung or skin fibroblasts mediate axonal regeneration of retinal ganglion neurons.

Although human olfactory mucosa derived cells (OMC) have been used in animal models and clinical trials with CNS repair purposes, the exact identity of these cells in culture with respect to their tissue of origin is not fully understood and their neuroregenerative capacity in vitro has not yet been demonstrated. In this study we have compared human OMC with human ensheathing glia from olfactory bulb (OB) and human fibroblasts from skin and lung. Our results indicate that these different cultured cell types exhibit considerable overlap of antigenic markers such that it is presently not possible to distinguish them immunocytochemically.

[Results of 12 years of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy].

Introduction: Chronic inflammation of nasolacrimal duct determines obstruction of the lacrimal flow and is called chronic dacryocystitis. Endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) can solve this obstruction by opening the lacrimal sac directly to the nasal cavity, avoiding external scars in a simple, safe way.

Material And Method: We reviewed all cases operated using this technique between January 1996 and June 2008.

Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb761) protects against aging-related caspase-mediated apoptosis in rat cochlea.

Conclusions: EGb761 treatment has a significant benefit with an early and preventive effect, reversing the deleterious effect of aging in the integrity of the rat cochlea, even in the late stage of the rat lifespan.

Objectives: We previously reported a significant relationship between aging and apoptosis in the rat cochlea. This study was designed to investigate the effects of Ginkgo biloba leaf extract (EGb761) on age-associated cochlear caspase activation.

Endogenous protection against oxidative stress caused by cisplatin: role of superoxide dismutase.

Conclusion: The administration of cisplatin induces the activation of superoxide dismutase (SOD) as a response to oxidative stress in the cochleae of Sprague-Dawley rats and this activation is proportional to the activation of the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis.

Objectives: To determine the role of the antioxidant endogenous mechanism in the preservation of cochlear integrity and function in an experimental model of cisplatin ototoxicity.

Methods: Sixteen Sprague-Dawley rats were studied at 7 days after intraperitoneal injection of CDDP (n = 8) or 10 ml/kg NaCl 0.

[Radiological diagnostic of the non-pathological conditions of the petrous apex].

Many patients with otological symptoms are remitted to the otolaryngology outpatient clinics every day. These patients commonly undergo imaging studies, generally magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In some cases, a positive unilateral result is found in the form of a potentially pathological signal that can be observed in the petrous apex region.

[Designing a new tool for hearing exploration].

Introduction: Many presbycusic patients have difficulty in understanding certain words. This could be justified because certain sounds in Spanish are more difficult to perceive, particularly the sounds with energy in the high frequencies. We propose to use a sentence as a tool to check this theory.

[Intervention of spiral ligament fibrocytes in the metabolic regulation of the inner ear].

Maintenance of the K(+) gradient between endolymph and perilymph is essential for normal hearing and depends primarily on the activity of the stria vascularis. Abundant Na-K-ATPase in marginal strial cells provides a pumping mechanism for preserving the K(+) level of the endolymph and consequently, the endocochlear potential. Fibrocytes in the lateral wall of the cochlea supply K(+) to the strial pump, via gap junctions, by recycling back into the stria the ions that efflux from the scala media during auditory transduction.

[Ultra-structural study of the lateral portion of the auditory sensorial organ using a decalcification-free method].

Objective: To explain the development of a new personal technique to study the spiral ligament and stria vascularis in Guinea pig cochleae by obtaining sample tissue without decalcification and to assess its validity for electron microscopy analysis.

Material And Method: Samples were taken from five female Guinea pigs weighing 200-250 g and were fixed in glutaraldehyde and paraformaldehyde for analysis of the spiral ligament and stria vascularis ultrastructure by transmission electron microscopy.

Results: All of the ultrastructure components in the spiral ligament and stria vascularis could be examined without the need for decalcification.

Adverse effects of glucocorticoid therapy for inner ear disorders.

Background: Because of their anti-inflammatory effects and suppression of the immune system, glucocorticoids have been widely used in otolaryngologic disorders and perioperative conditions.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to determine the incidence of adverse effects after the administration of glucocorticosteroids in patients affected by diverse inner ear disorders.

Methods: One hundred and sixty-three patients affected by sudden sensorineural hearing loss, 39 with progressive sensorineural hearing loss and 16 with fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss were subjected to glucocorticosteroid therapy with 6-methylprednisolone at a starting dose of 1 mg/kg body weight per day; this therapy was tapered during the next 21-28 days.

Does the serological study for viral infection in autoimmune inner ear disease make sense?

Viral infections of the labyrinth have been considered a major source of auditory and vestibular system pathology. However, the involvement of virus in the development of immune reactions responsible for immunomediated inner ear disease has not been studied enough. Following viral infection, an effector immune response, humoral (B cell) and/or cytotoxic (T cell) is directed against a virus and it might cross-react with self-protein or autoantigen, evoking an autoimmune response.

[Environmental scanning electron microscopy for biofilm detection in tonsils].

Introduction And Objective: To describe an environmental scanning electron microscopic method for the study of biofilms in clinical samples. A comparison with standard scanning electron microscopy is performed.

Patients And Method: Nine patients with a past history of recurrent tonsillitis underwent tonsillectomy.

Morphological sequence of Plastipore extrusion in experimental otitis media.

Objectives: Plastipore prostheses are still used by many surgeons, although the functional results are controversial. The aim of this study was the morphological analysis of Plastipore material performance in the middle ear of rats, with special attention to extrusion.

Methods: Twenty-four Wistar rats were given implants made of commercially available Plastipore and assigned to 3 groups: group A, with implantation in a healthy middle ear; group B, with implantation and cauterization of the nasopharyngeal orifice of the eustachian tube (hypoventilation); and group C, with implantation, cauterization of the eustachian tube, and bacterial inoculation with Pseudomonas aeruginosa.