Objective To explore the correlation between Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cpn) infection and sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL). Methods One hundred and twenty patients with SSHL were enrolled as SSHL group, and another 120 healthy subjects were served as control group. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated, and the expression of Cpn-specific antigen (Cpn-Ag) and Cpn-DNA in PBMCs was detected by direct immunofluorescence test and PCR, respectively. Specific antibodies (IgA, IgG and IgM) to Cpn were determined by microimmunofluorescence test.Results There was no significant difference in the positive findings between direct immunofluorescence test and PCR (P>0.05). There were significant differences in the positive rates of Cpn-Ag and Cpn-IgM for acute infection between these two groups (P＜0.01), and there were significant differences in the positive rates of Cpn-IgA and Cpn-IgG for chronic infection between these two groups (P＜0.05). Conclusion There is a significantly higher prevalence of Cpn in patients with SSHL. Cpn infection may be a possible cause for SSHL.

Objective To apply data mining to risk prediction of sudden deafness, and form the association rules.Methods The clinical data of 517 patients with sudden deafness was collected, including the characteristics of 19 attributes: sex, age, season, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis, long-term smoking, alcoholism, mental tension, insomnia, weakness, bedridden, infection, congenital malformation, trauma, tumour and autoimmune diseases. The source database were cleaned, then mapped for mining database. Minimum support to 0.1 and minimum confidence level to 0.9 were set for analysis of association rules. Results One hundred and six strong association rules were formed, and the rules contained the relation between the incidence of sudden deafness and the characteristics of 19 attributes. Conclusion This method is conducive to make the abstract theory of mathematical statistics into useful association rules to guide the practice of disease prevention and control.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of Ethosomes encapsulated with 5-FU in treatment of laryngotracheal stenosis in rabbit models. METHOD: The 5-FU ethosome was prepared by the thin film hydration method, and the size distribution and the encapsulation efficiency was investigated. The tracheal mucosa was scraped about 0.5 cm in width with a nylon brush to induce the scar formation in the airway,then animals were divided into three groups: 5-FU ethosome group,5-FU group and saline group. Drugs were injected into scar by paracentesis under endoscope in each group respectively. The severity of stenosis was observed under laryngofiberoscope immediately, 7, 14, 21 days after administration. RESULT: Airway stenosis of 5-FU ethosome group was not significantly different compared with 5-FU group at 7 days after administration, but 5-FU ethosome significantly reduced the airway stenosis at 21 days after administration when compared with 5-FU group and no restenosis was noticed during the observation period. CONCLUSION Ethosomes encapsulated with 5-FU was effective for laryngotracheal stenosis. It is a potentially new method for ameliorating airway stenosis originated from granulation tissue.
Animals ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Fluorouracil ; therapeutic use ; Liposomes ; therapeutic use ; Rabbits ; Tracheal Stenosis ; pathology ; surgery