Familiar Meniere's disease restricted to 1.48 Mb on chromosome 12p12.3 by allelic and haplotype association.

Meniere's disease (MD) is a disorder of the inner ear characterized by episodes of vertigo, tinnitus and fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss. Most MD cases are sporadic, but 5-15% of patients are familial following an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance with incomplete penetrance. We have previously identified a candidate gene region for MD on chromosome 12p12.

Effects of neurotrophic factors on growth and glial cell alignment of cultured adult spiral ganglion cells.

Adult spiral ganglion cells were cultured in chorus to assess the influence of the neurotrophins brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin 3 and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) on neurite growth and Schwann cell alignment. Over 1500 measurements were collected using each factor at 10 ng/ml and all three in combination. Evaluation was made with GDNF at concentrations of up to 100 ng/ml.

Familial Ménière's disease in five generations.

Objective: Clinical characterization of a Swedish family followed for five generations. Several members of each generation had Ménière's disease (MD). Possible modes of genetic transmission were assessed.

A Meniere's disease gene linked to chromosome 12p12.3.

Meniere's disease (MD) is characterized by spontaneous attacks of vertigo, fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, and aural fullness. The majority of patients with MD appear sporadic but 5%-13% of the cases have a family history for the disease. The cause of both the sporadic and inherited forms of MD remains unclear despite a number of candidate genes defined from their association with hearing loss.

Effects of intratympanic injection of latanoprost in Meniere's disease: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, pilot study.

Objective: To determine the short-term effects of latanoprost, a selective FP prostanoid receptor agonist, in Meniere's disease.

Study Design And Methods: Latanoprost was administered by intratympanic injection once daily for 3 days. Before the first injection (day 1) and on days 5 and 15, hearing and tinnitus were determined.

Synaptophysin immunohistochemistry in the human cochlea.

Light microscopy and immunohistochemical analyses of a freshly prepared human cochlea, removed at meningioma skull base surgery, were performed with particular emphasis on synaptophysin (SY) reactivity. Synaptophysin, a 38-kDa glycoprotein, is one of the most abundant integral membrane proteins of small presynaptic vesicles and is a useful marker for sites of synaptic transmission of the efferent olivocochlear system in the cochlea. Following fixation and decalcification, cryosections of 30 microm were prepared.

Fourth branchial pouch sinus with recurrent deep cervical abscesses successfully treated with trichloroacetic acid cauterization.

A previously healthy 13-year-old girl presented with a left-sided deep cervical abscess. A CT scan demonstrated an abscess in the lower neck, anterior to the common carotid artery. Treatment with i.

[A case report: anomaly of the fourth branchial pouch with recurring cervical abscesses. Cauterization with trichloroacetic acid closed the fistula opening and cured the patient].

A fourth branchial pouch sinus is a rare congenital anomaly, which in a 13-year-old girl presented clinically as recurrent deep cervical abscesses. The location of the majority of these anomalies is the left side of the neck (90%). Radiological and endoscopic investigations verified the diagnosis.

Vascular occlusion in the endolymphatic sac in Meniere's disease.

In 2 patients with severe Meniere's disease (MD), there was histologic evidence of occlusion of the vein of the vestibular aqueduct (VVA). This finding coincided with total or partial occlusion of numerous small vessels around the endolymphatic sac (ES), flattening of epithelium, extensive perisaccular fibrosis, and signs of new bone formation. Ultrastructural analysis of the occluding material showed foci with dense connective tissue, calcification, lipid deposits, and layers of basement membrane, sometimes concentrically arranged.