EBF1 Limits the Numbers of Cochlear Hair and Supporting Cells and Forms the Scala Tympani and Spiral Limbus during Inner Ear Development.

Early B-cell factor 1 (EBF1) is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor essential for the differentiation of various tissues. Our single-cell RNA sequencing data suggest that is expressed in the sensory epithelium of the mouse inner ear. Here, we found that the murine gene and its protein are expressed in the prosensory domain of the inner ear, medial region of the cochlear duct floor, otic mesenchyme, and cochleovestibular ganglion.

Detection of Tip Fold-Over of the Slim Modiolar Electrode Using Intraoperative Mobile Cone-Beam Computed Tomography.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the importance of mobile cone-beam computed tomography in detecting tip fold-over of a slim modiolar electrode within the cochlea during surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective case review.

Setting: Tertiary medical center.

Function of bidirectional sensitivity in the otolith organs established by transcription factor Emx2.

Otolith organs of the inner ear are innervated by two parallel afferent projections to the brainstem and cerebellum. These innervations were proposed to segregate across the line of polarity reversal (LPR) within each otolith organ, which divides the organ into two regions of hair cells (HC) with opposite stereociliary orientation. The relationship and functional significance of these anatomical features are not known.

Live imaging of hair bundle polarity acquisition demonstrates a critical timeline for transcription factor Emx2.

Directional sensitivity of hair cells (HCs) is conferred by the aymmetric apical hair bundle, comprised of a kinocilium and stereocilia staircase. The mother centriole (MC) forms the base of the kinocilium and the stereocilia develop adjacent to it. Previously, we showed that transcription factor Emx2 reverses hair bundle orientation and its expression in the mouse vestibular utricle is restricted, resulting in two regions of opposite bundle orientation (Jiang et al.

3D reconstruction of cochlea using optical coherence tomography.

Recently, in vivo visualization of the cochlea and the smaller structures inside of it has been achieved by optical coherence tomography (OCT). This makes it possible to use OCT imaging for diagnosis of diseases such as Meniere's disease through measuring the degree of endolymphatic hydrops. To this end, we present a novel method for 3D segmentation of these cochlear OCT images that is based on superpixels and diffusion maps.

Development of an electrode for the artificial cochlear sensory epithelium.

An artificial cochlear sensory epithelium has been developed on the basis of a new concept that the piezoelectric membrane, which converts mechanical distortion into electricity, can mimic the function of the inner hair cell and basilar membrane of the mammalian cochlea. Our previous research demonstrated that the piezoelectric membrane generated electrical outputs in response to the sound stimulation after implantation into the guinea pig cochlea, whereas electrodes for the stimulation of spiral ganglion neurons have not been fabricated, and a method to fix the device in the cochlea is also required to show proof-of-concept. In the present study, to achieve proof-of-concept of hearing recovery by implantation of the artificial cochlear sensory epithelium, we fabricated new electrodes that stick into the cochlear modiolus, which also play a role in the fixation of the device in the cochlea.

Therapeutic potential of a gamma-secretase inhibitor for hearing restoration in a guinea pig model with noise-induced hearing loss.

Background: Notch signaling plays a crucial role in the fate determination of cochlear progenitor cells, hair cells, and supporting cells in the developing cochlea. Recent studies have demonstrated the temporal activation of Notch signaling in damaged mature cochleae, and have demonstrated the induction of new hair cells by pharmacologically inhibiting Notch signaling. The present study aimed to illustrate the feasibility of pharmacologically inhibiting Notch signaling by using a gamma-secretase inhibitor for treating sensorineural hearing loss.

In vivo imaging of mouse cochlea by optical coherence tomography.

Hypothesis: Cochlear pathology can be evaluated in living animals using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Background: The current imaging methods available for the detailed analysis of cochlear pathology in a clinical setting provide only limited information. Thus, a cochlear imaging modality with high definition is needed for improving the diagnosis of cochlear pathology.

18F-fluoromisonidazole positron emission tomography before treatment is a predictor of radiotherapy outcome and survival prognosis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of [(18)F]fluoromisonidazole ([(18)F]FMISO)-positron emission tomography (PET) prior to the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods: Seventeen patients with untreated HNSCC underwent pretreatment [(18)F]FMISO PET. Six of them underwent definitive surgery and the remaining 11 definitive (chemo-)radiotherapy.

Suture granuloma showing false-positive finding on PET/CT after head and neck cancer surgery.

We report herein two cases of suture granuloma showing focal intense 2-deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoro-d-glucose (FDG)-uptake in positron emission tomography (PET). Follow-up FDG-PET after surgical intervention for head and neck cancer revealed lesions with high FDG-uptake, which were highly suspected of being a recurrent tumor. The lesions were subjected to excisional biopsy for definitive diagnosis.

[A case of relapsing polychondritis with respiratory symptom manifestation alone].

Relapsing polychondritis, a comparatively rare condition systemically affecting organs containing collagen, such as cartilage tissue, is diagnosed based on clinical manifestations and pathological findings. Our case report involves a respiratory symptom alone. A 65-year-old man seen for fever and dyspnea was found in computed tomography and endoscopy to have subglottic and tracheal stenosis, necessitating tracheostomy and tracheal cartilage biopsy.

[Two cases of intractable malignant external otitis with skull base osteomyelitis alleviated by intraarterial antibiotic administration].

Malignant external otitis (MEO) is a devastating external auditory canal infection usually occurring in the elderly with diabetes. MEO often progresses to potentially lethal skull base osteomyelitis (SBO) complications such as meningitis or multiple cranial nerve palsies. Poor vascularity in affected tissue due to diabetic microangiopathy and Pseudomonal infection is thought responsible for refractory infection.

[Cystic parotid gland lesion evaluation].

Objectives: We evaluated differential diagnoses of cystic parotid gland lesions and the efficacy of preoperative diagnosis.

Materials And Methods: Of 191 parotid gland nodules resected between January 2003 and October 2008, 167 (87%) were benign and 24 (13%) malignant. Thirty-five parotid gland nodules whose components were almost cystic were enrolled in this study.

Sequential FDG-PET/CT after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a predictor of histopathologic response in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To evaluate whether 2-deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) more accurately predicts the histopathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Procedures: Sixteen patients with HNSCC underwent FDG-PET/CT and MRI scans before and after one cycle of NAC, followed by surgical resection. The 26 surgically resected specimens of the 16 patients were analyzed.

Successful treatment of locally advanced anaplastic thyroid carcinoma by chemotherapy and hyperfractionated radiotherapy.

The authors report a case of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma which was treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy and proved to achieve pathological CR (complete response) after a radical operation. A 53-year-old female presented with a mass of about 4 cm in diameter arising from the left lobe of her thyroid and surrounding her cervical esophagus. Pre-operative aspiration cytology and open biopsy revealed the tumor was a giant cell anaplastic carcinoma.

Cortical activation during optokinetic stimulation - an fMRI study.

Conclusion: Activation of cortical areas related to visual motion processing and control of eye movement, and deactivation of parieto-insular vestibular cortices (PIVC) were revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with small-field optokinetic stimulation (OKS). The results agreed well with those of previous studies, which indicates that the current protocol is reliable enough to be used as a clinical examination.

Objectives: To propose an fMRI set-up with OKS that is reliable and simple enough to be performed as a clinical test.

Brain metabolism of children with profound deafness: a visual language activation study by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.

Conclusion: The use of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) with a visual language task provided objective information on the development and plasticity of cortical language networks. This approach could help individuals involved in the habilitation and education of prelingually deafened children to decide upon the appropriate mode of communication.

Objectives: To investigate the cortical processing of the visual component of language and the effect of deafness upon this activity.