Assessment of balance and vestibular functions in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

This study investigated the relationship among the severity of hearing impairment, vestibular function and balance function in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL). A total of 35 ISSNHL patients (including 21 patients with vertigo) were enrolled. All of the patients underwent audiometry, sensory organization test (SOT), caloric test, cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP) test and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) test.

Modified titration intratympanic gentamicin injection for unilateral intractable Ménière's disease.

This study looked into the efficacy of a modified titration protocol of intratympanic gentamicin injection (ITG) in the patients with unilateral intractable Ménière's disease (MD). Modified titration protocol of ITG at a low dose (20 mg/mL) was administered to 10 patients with definite unilateral intractable MD. After initial first two fixed ITGs on weekly basis, the patients might or might not be given any more injections, depending on the appearance of unilateral vestibular loss (UVL).

The changes in mGluR2 and mGluR7 expression in rat medial vestibular nucleus and flocculus following unilateral labyrinthectomy.

It is known that the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) and the cerebellar flocculus are the key areas, which contribute to the behavioral recovery ("vestibular compensation") after unilateral labyrinthectomy (UL). In these areas, how the genetic activities of the metabotropic glutamate receptors mGluR2 and mGluR7 performance after UL is unknown. With the means of quantitative real-time PCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry, we analyzed the expression of mGluR2 and mGluR7 in the bilateral MVN and the flocculus of rats in different stages after UL (the 1st, 3rd, and 7th day).