Efficiency of gene therapy for sensorineural hearing loss in mouse model: A meta-analysis.

Objectives: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a disorder characterized by the loss or impairment of cochlear hair cells or the auditory nerve. In recent years, gene therapy has emerged as a promising approach for SNHL treatment. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of gene therapy on the restoration or improvement of auditory function in mouse model with loss or impairment of hearing.

Comparative Histopathologic Analysis of Inner Ear Damage in Meningitis: Otogenic Versus Meningogenic Routes.

Objective: To distinguish the patterns of inner ear changes between meningogenic and otogenic routes in meningitis cases. Our hypothesis is that pinpointing distinct patterns linked to each route could aid in the development of diagnostic strategies and targeted therapies.

Methods: Temporal bones (TBs) from patients with a history of meningitis and histopathological evidence of labyrinthitis were divided into two groups (otogenic and meningogenic).

Relationship Between Cochlear Lateral Wall Changes and Endolymphatic Hydrops in Otitis Media.

Objectives: Despite otitis media and various disease processes being associated with endolymphatic hydrops (EH), an exact explanation of the pathophysiology has yet to be reported. This study aimed to investigate the changes in the cochlear lateral wall structures and their potential correlation with the presence and severity of cochlear EH in acute and chronic otitis media cases. The investigations were conducted in both chinchilla animal model and human temporal bone specimens.

Task force of the Brazilian Society of Otology - evaluation and management of peripheral facial palsy.

Objective: To review key evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral facial palsy in children and adults.

Methods: Task force members were educated on knowledge synthesis methods, including electronic database search, review and selection of relevant citations, and critical appraisal of selected studies. Articles written in English or Portuguese on peripheral facial palsy were eligible for inclusion.

Cochlear Otosclerosis and Secondary Hydrops (Ménière's Syndrome).

This article discusses a case of cochlear otosclerosis leading to secondary hydrops and near-complete hearing loss. Histopathological examination revealed advanced multifocal otosclerosis in both temporal bones, with specific focus on cochlear invasion and significant bone resorption. The severity of the case ruled out surgical intervention due to the risk of further hearing loss.

Middle Ear Ossicular Joint Changes in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Histopathological Study.

Objectives: Although previous research has indicated inner ear changes in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients, no prior study has explored the middle ear, particularly the ossicles and their joints, in DM patients. This study aimed to investigate whether type 2 DM is associated with middle ear changes, specifically affecting the ossicular chain and joints.

Methods: This study included 47 ears from 25 patients with DM (male = 13, female = 12, age: 51.

Audiometric evaluation in different clinical presentations of otitis media.

Objectives: To assess the hearing thresholds in acute otitis media, otitis media with effusion and chronic otitis media (non-suppurative, non-cholesteatomatous suppurative and cholesteatomatous) and to compare the hearing outcomes with non-diseased ears (in bilateral cases) or contralateral healthy ears (in unilateral cases), since hearing loss is the most frequent sequel of otitis media and there is no previous study comparing the audiometric thresholds among the different forms of otitis media.

Methods: Cross sectional, controlled study. We performed conventional audiometry (500-8000Hz) and tympanometry in patients with otitis media and healthy individuals (control group).

The role of motor proteins in photoreceptor protein transport and visual function.

Background: Rods and cones are photoreceptor neurons in the retina that are required for visual sensation in vertebrates, wherein the perception of vision is initiated when these neurons respond to photons in the light stimuli. The photoreceptor cell is structurally studied as outer segments (OS) and inner segments (IS) where proper protein sorting, localization, and compartmentalization are critical for phototransduction, visual function, and survival. In human retinal diseases, improper protein transport to the OS or mislocalization of proteins to the IS and other cellular compartments could lead to impaired visual responses and photoreceptor cell degeneration that ultimately cause loss of visual function.

Bilateral Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Distinct Phenotype Entity.

Objective: To investigate the clinical phenotype and hearing prognosis of patients with unilateral and bilateral (simultaneous and nonsimultaneous) sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL).

Study Design: Retrospective cohort.

Setting: Otology outpatient clinic of a tertiary university hospital.

Evaluation of Oxidative-Stress Pathway and Recovery of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss.

 Although the pathogenesis of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) has been discussed in the literature, many unclear points remain. Several authors have hypothesized that oxidative stress plays a role in the pathogenesis of noise-related hearing loss, as well as in drug- and aging-related hearing loss. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) may contribute to the pathogenesis of SSNHL in a similar way as in cases of ototoxicity, noise-induced hearing loss and presbyacusis.

Temporal Bone Pathology Secondary to Head Trauma-A Human Temporal Bone Study.

Hypothesis/background: We hypothesize that following head trauma there is a difference in temporal bone (TB) pathology in cases with and without skull fracture. Although conductive, sensorineural, mixed hearing loss, and TB pathology following head trauma have been reported, to our knowledge, there are no studies that have compared the pathology of the TB in cases with and without skull fracture.

Methods: We analyzed 34 TBs from donors who had a history of head trauma (20 with skull fracture and 14 without fracture), and 25 age-matched controls without clinical or histological evidence of otologic disorders.

Otopathologic Abnormalities in CHARGE Syndrome.

Objective: To perform an otopathologic analysis of temporal bones (TBs) with CHARGE syndrome.

Study Design: Otopathologic study of human TB specimens.

Setting: Otopathology laboratories.

Clinical Profile of Patients With Unilateral Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: Correlation With Hearing Prognosis.

Objective: To characterize, with a standard systematic protocol, the clinical and audiometric profile of patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) and to correlate the findings with hearing recovery prognosis.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort of patients with ISSNHL.

Setting: Outpatients of a tertiary referral center followed for 20 years.

Evaluation of the vestibulo-ocular reflex in patients with chronic otitis media.

Introduction: In recent years, scientific evidence has shown that chronic otitis media may cause balance and vestibular dysfunction.

Objective: To compare the results of the video head impulse test (gain and symmetry of the vestibulo-ocular reflex and presence of covert and overt saccades) in patients with chronic otitis media and controls.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of patients with chronic otitis media (study group), aged between 18 and 60 years.

Subjective Visual Vertical Testing in Patients With Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media.

Objective: To analyze the results of the subjective visual vertical test using the "bucket method" in patients with chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM).

Study Design: Cross-sectional, controlled study.

Setting: Outpatient otology clinic in a tertiary care hospital.

Quantitative assessment of cochlear and vestibular ganglion neurons in temporal bones with chronic otitis media.

Purpose: In this study, we aimed to determine whether or not COM leads to loss of spiral and Scarpa ganglion neurons.

Methods: From the human temporal bone (HTB) collection at the University of Minnesota we selected human temporal bones with COM, defined as the presence of clinically intractable tissue abnormalities in the middle ear (cholesteatoma, perforation of the eardrum, granulation tissue, fibrosis, tympanosclerosis, and cholesterol granuloma). We also selected HTBs from donors with no ear diseases as controls.

Evaluation of vestibular symptoms and postural balance control in patients with chronic otitis media.

Background: Evidence to support potential links between chronic otitis media (COM) and vestibular impairment/postural balance control issues is lacking.

Objective: To investigate whether COM associates with vestibular symptoms, balance problems, and abnormalities in vestibular function tests.

Methods: We selected 126 patients with COM and excluded patients with any identifiable underlying causes for vestibular dysfunction.

Histopathology of Inner Ear Malformations: Potential Pitfalls for Cochlear Implantation.

Hypothesis: The presence of bony inner ear malformations may associate with a number of anatomical abnormalities affecting the middle ear structures. Those malformations may create pitfalls and complications for cochlear implantation.

Background: Inner ear malformations associate with varying degrees of hearing loss, and frequently require cochlear implantation for hearing rehabilitation.

Sensorineural hearing loss in the acute phase of a single episode of acute otitis media.

Introduction: Acute otitis media is a disease with high global prevalence, that can lead to several acute complications and auditory sequelae. Data regarding the auditory evaluation in the acute phase of acute otitis media are scarce.

Objective: To evaluate the main audiometric changes (air and bone conduction thresholds) in the initial phase of an acute otitis media episode.

Otopathology in the United States: History, Current Situation, and Future Perspectives.

: Human temporal bone studies have documented the pathophysiologic basis of many pathologic conditions and diseases affecting the ear, contributing to the development of specific clinical knowledge and pathology-oriented treatments. Researchers dedicated to the study of anatomy and histology of the temporal bone emanated from Europe to the United States during the first part of the 20th Century. The first otopathology laboratory was founded in the United States in 1924, at Johns Hopkins University; over time, the otopathology laboratories-considered by some authors as "gold mines" for studying ear diseases-became numerous and very prolific.