Comparison of frequency-specific hearing outcomes after endoscopic and microscopic tympanoplasty.

Background: Hearing results of endoscopic and microscopic tympanoplasty have been compared using the average pure tone threshold which could conceal subtle differences at a specific frequency.

Objectives: To compare frequency-specific hearing outcomes of endoscopic and microscopic tympanoplasty.

Material And Methods: The study included 42 patients who underwent endoscopic or microscopic type I tympanoplasty.

Acid stimulation-induced semi-pluripotent characteristics in human somatic cells.

Background: Clinical trials of cell-based therapies using induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells have already been started for several neurological diseases.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to explore the characteristics and differentiation of somatic cells in vitro undergoing a low pH treatment, so as to provide new therapeutic strategies for treating sensorineural hearing loss.

Methods: Somatic cells were treated with low pH solution to alter their characteristics.

Aging and the peripheral vestibular system.

Whereas much has been learned about age-related auditory changes in the inner ear, relatively little is known about the aging effects on the vestibular part of the inner ear-the peripheral vestibular system. Here we review relevant literature with regard to the prevalence of vestibular dysfunction, vestibular functional and structural changes in the elderly. The prevalence of vestibular dysfunction increases with age.

Auditory characteristics of noise-exposed memberscrossing age-related groups.

Objective: To report audiological characteristics in a group of noise-exposed crew members on board ships.

Methods And Materials: Clinical and audiological measurements including pure-tone thresholds, acoustic immittance results and tinnitus questionnaires were collected from both the ship crew members (study subjects) and their land based colleagues (controls).

Results: 1) Noise exposed crew members showed not only high frequency, but also low frequency hearing loss; 2) Hearing impairment increased with age, with 65.

Molecular mechanisms underlying the protective effects of hydrogen-saturated saline on noise-induced hearing loss.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the molecular mechanism of the protective effects of hydrogen-saturated saline on NIHL.

Methods: Guinea pigs were divided into three groups: hydrogen-saturated saline; normal saline; and control. For saline administration, the guinea pigs were given daily abdominal injections 3 d before and 1 h before noise exposure.

Transplantation of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in cochlea to repair sensorineural hearing.

To examine if transplantation of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UMSC) into cochlea can be used to repair sensorineural hearing. Here we transplanted the fifth and sixth generations of UMSCs through the subarachnoid cavity of congenital deaf albino pigs. Auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were measured before and after UMSC transplantation.

A de novo silencer causes elimination of MITF-M expression and profound hearing loss in pigs.

Background: Genesis of novel gene regulatory modules is largely responsible for morphological and functional evolution. De novo generation of novel cis-regulatory elements (CREs) is much rarer than genomic events that alter existing CREs such as transposition, promoter switching or co-option. Only one case of de novo generation has been reported to date, in fish and without involvement of phenotype alteration.

[Meta-analysis on autogenous fat injection for unilateral vocal cord paralysis].

Objective: This study conduct a qualitative synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis of VFAFI, aimed to study whether it is a useful treatment for UVCP.

Method: Electronic databases PubMed, YZ365. COM, WANFANG DATA, CMJD, CHKD,CNKI were searched using relevant keywords.

[Meta-analysis on effectiveness of prelingually deaf patients at different ages following cochlear implantation].

Objective: To assess the clinical effeetiveness of prelingually deaf children after cochlear implantation at different ages so as to provide reasonable expectations for the patients and guidance for the clinical treatment.

Method: Electronic databases PubMed, YZ365. COM, WANFANG DATA, CMJD, CHKD, CNKI were searched using relevant keywords.

Cartilage engineering using chondrocyte cell sheets and its application in reconstruction of microtia.

The imperfections of scaffold materials have hindered the clinical application of cartilage tissue engineering. The recently developed cell-sheet technique is adopted to engineer tissues without scaffold materials, thus is considered being potentially able to overcome the problems concerning the scaffold imperfections. This study constructed monolayer and bilayer chondrocyte cell sheets and harvested the sheets with cell scraper instead of temperature-responsive culture dishes.

Clinical observation on hearing conditions of centenarians in northern district of China.

Conclusion: The hearing conditions of the centenarians were quite poor as regards hearing thresholds and speech detection ability.

Objective: To investigate hearing conditions of centenarians.

Methods: A total of 54 centenarians in Rizhao and Linyi Districts in Shandong Province were investigated to assess hearing conditions of centenerians comprehensively by questionnaire investigation, pure-tone audiometry, acoustic immitance, intelligence evaluation, and speech detection scores.

Mutations in the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene in elderly Chinese people.

Conclusion: Our data indicate that the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene, and particularly the A827G mutation, may be associated with susceptibility to age-related hearing loss.

Objective: Hearing loss associated with aging is common among elderly persons. In all genetic backgrounds, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations may be one of the most important factors contributing to aging and age-related hearing loss.

Effect of Binghuang ear drop treatment on otitis externa in guinea pigs.

To investigate the pharmacodynamic effects of Binghuang ear drop on acute suppurative otitis externa in guinea pig model. Thirty guinea pigs were randomly divided into three groups, with ten animals in each group. Group A animals had normal ear canal and Binghuang ear drops (two drops, B.

Hydrogen-saturated saline protects intensive narrow band noise-induced hearing loss in guinea pigs through an antioxidant effect.

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate hydrogen-saturated saline protecting intensive narrow band noise-induced hearing loss. Guinea pigs were divided into three groups: hydrogen-saturated saline; normal saline; and control. For saline administration, the guinea pigs were given daily abdominal injections (1 ml/100 g) 3 days before and 1 h before narrow band noise exposure (2.

[Meta-analysis of the efficacy of cochlear implantation in deaf patients with inner ear malformation].

Objective: Assess and compare the clinical efficacy and safety of cochlear implantation in deaf patients with inner ear malformation and in the ones with normal inner ear structure, so that to clarify whether it is effective to restore hearing for the deaf patients with inner ear malformation.

Method: The literature with relevant key words were retrieved in the databases including PubMed, YZ365. com, WANFANG data, CMJD, CHKD and CNKI with language limited to Chinese and English.

Analysis of the heteroplasmy level and transmitted features in hearing-loss pedigrees with mitochondrial 12S rRNA A1555G mutation.

Background: Mitochondrial cytopathies are characterized by a large variability of clinical phenotypes and severity. The amount of mutant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in a cell, called the heteroplasmy level, is an important determinant of the degree of mitochondrial dysfunction and therefore disease severity. Understanding the distribution of heteroplasmy levels across a group of offspring is an important step in understanding the inheritance of diseases.

Clinical investigation on the beneficial effects of the Chinese medicinal herb Gushen Pian on sensorineural deafness and tinnitus.

The objective is to study the therapeutic effects of Gushen Pian on sensorineural deafness according to the Phase II clinical trial protocol, as approved for novel traditional Chinese medicines by Ministry of Health of PRC. This is a double blind study in which 120 patients were allocated randomly into treatment and control groups and an open treatment group (40 cases in each group). Patients in the treatment groups were administrated with Gushen Pian and controls received placebo.

Mitochondria toxin-induced acute cochlear cell death indicates cellular activity-correlated energy consumption.

The different cell types within the cochlea may have a specific contribution to the pathological changes during metabolism failure, which may provide clues for developing novel strategies for inner ear therapy. In order to evaluate activity-correlated cell death during metabolism failure in the cochlea, 3-nitropropionic acid was used to irreversibly inhibit the respiratory chain. Dose-response of the cochlear cells to 3-nitropropionic acid was analyzed in vitro.

Effect of retreatment on the end-stage sudden deafness.

Microcirculatory disturbance of inner ear is probably one of the important etiological factors of sudden deafness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of retreatment on the end-stage sudden deafness. For this purpose, the patients who met with the criteria for sudden deafness and showed poor response to conventional therapy over 2 months were assigned randomly to the retreatment group.

The differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into inner ear hair cell-like cells in vitro.

Conclusion: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the ability to differentiate into hair cells, and this method of culturing MSCs provides a useful tool for studies on mammalian cochlear hair cell regeneration.

Objective: To investigate a method to induce bone marrow MSCs to differentiate into inner ear hair cells.

Methods: Rat bone marrow MSCs were isolated from healthy rats and cultured in vitro.

Functional mutation of SMAC/DIABLO, encoding a mitochondrial proapoptotic protein, causes human progressive hearing loss DFNA64.

SMAC/DIABLO is a mitochondrial proapoptotic protein that is released from mitochondria during apoptosis and counters the inhibitory activities of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins, IAPs. By linkage analysis and candidate screening, we identified a heterozygous SMAC/DIABLO mutation, c.377C>T (p.

Expression and clinical significance of cathepsin B and stefin A in laryngeal cancer.

The aim of this study was to investigate the roles of the cathepsin B cysteine protease and its endogenous inhibitor stefin A in laryngeal cancer. Immunohistochemistry was employed to detect the expression of cathepsin B and stefin A in 84 patients with laryngeal cancer, respectively. The protein expression of stefin A was negatively associated with lymphatic metastasis, recurrence of laryngeal cancer and the survival rate, which was not observed with cathepsin B protein expression.

[Preliminary clinical research of cochlear implantation in elderly and pre-elderly patients with profound hearing loss].

Objective: To explore the safety and efficacy of cochlear implantation among elderly patients with severe to profound hearing loss.

Methods: Eight pre-elderly and elderly patients with an medium age of 58 years who suffered from bilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss received cochlear implantation between November 2008 and November 2009. The patients' tolerance to implant surgery and the occurrence of complications were observed.

Math1 gene transfer based on the delivery system of quaternized chitosan/Na-carboxymethyl-beta-cyclodextrin nanoparticles.

Mammalian cochlear hair cells don't regenerate naturally after injury, which usually leave permanent hearing loss. Math1 gene is a positive regulator of hair cell differentiation during cochlear development and was proved to be very critical in hair cell regeneration in deaf animals. Generating new cochlear hair cells by forced Math1 expression may be a cure for hearing loss.

[Autoradiography observation on cochlea and organs in guinea pigs after intra-abdominal injection of bFGF].

Objective: To observe whether bFGF could cross the blood-labyrinth barrier (BLB) after intra-abdominal injection and to establish an experimental basis for its clinical applications.

Method: Thirty guinea pigs were divided into three groups. Animals in group 1 were administered o I-bFGF, while animals in group 2 and 3 were administered 125 and saline, respectively, via intra-abdominal injection.