No Abstract Available.
Otitis Media* ; Otitis*

No abstract available.
Nasal Polyps*

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Choristoma* ; Ear, Middle* ; Salivary Glands*

In our daily clinical practice, we have come across several patients suffering from a fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss of unknown origin. Such patients were sometimes treated with sucess by steroid administration. Some kinds of immune injury in the inner ear have been proposed as a possible pathogenesis. However, the minute mechanisms of immune injury in the inner ear and the way in which steroids improve the hearing loss remained obscure. We have previously reported that the MRL/MP-lpr/lpr(MRL/lpr) autoimmune strain of mice showed IgG deposition in the stria vascularis with elevated thresholds of auditory brainstem response. This strain of mice though to be a good model for studying immune mediated inner ear dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to evaluated the therapeutic efffects of prednisolone on the hearing impairment in MRL/lpr mice, morphologically and electrophysiologically.
Animals ; Ear, Inner ; Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem ; Hearing Loss ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Mice* ; Prednisolone ; Steroids ; Stria Vascularis

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine the characteristics of patients who did not match the audiometric criteria of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) but complained of acute hearing loss. METHODS: By thorough medical chart reviews, historical cohort study was performed with consecutive data of 589 patients complaining of acute unilateral sensorineural hearing loss without identifiable causes between 2005 and 2013. Those patients demonstrating a hearing loss of at least 30 dB at three consecutive frequencies based on pure tone audiometry were classified as group I; the others were classified as group II. Patients' characteristics, final hearing, and hearing improvement rate (HIR) between the two groups were compared. RESULTS: Group II exhibited distinctive characteristics, including an early age of onset of the hearing loss (P<0.01), an absence of accompanying diabetes (P<0.01) and hypertension (P<0.01), and better unaffected hearing and final hearing compared with group I (P<0.001). However, the HIR of the patients in the two groups was not significantly different (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients who did not meet the audiological criteria of SSNHL exhibited distinctive characteristics compared to SSNHL patients.
Age of Onset ; Audiometry ; Cohort Studies ; Hearing Loss* ; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural* ; Hearing Loss, Sudden ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Prognosis

The present study was carried out in order to observe the changes in the expression of the sialoglycoconjugates of the rabbit sinus mucosa after inoculation of influenza A virus utilizing a biotin labeled lectins for light microscopy with four different lectins; Maackia amurensis(MAA), Wheat germ agglutinin(WGA), Sambucus nigra(SNA), and Peanut(PNA). A comparison of the affinity of these lectins demonstrated the different distribution of sialoglycoconjugates in the ciliary layer and goblet cells. The normal sinus mucosa stained with four types of lectins showed that the sialoglycoconjugates were mainly distributed in the ciliary layer and goblet cells. Moreover, the main sugar residues of the sialoglycoconjugates were figured out to be consisted of Neu5Ac(alpha2,3)Gal, GlcNAc and Neu5Ac. Influenza A virus infection decreased the staining intensity of the mucosa with MAA, but not with WGA. The staining intensity of PNA, however, was highly increased in the viral infected mucosa. These results suggest that Neu5Ac(alpha2,3)Gal sugar residues may be required as protecting factor or modulator for Influenza A virus infectivity.
Biotin ; Goblet Cells ; Influenza A virus* ; Influenza, Human* ; Lectins ; Maackia ; Maxillary Sinus* ; Microscopy ; Mucous Membrane* ; Sambucus ; Triticum

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Oxygen free radicals are generated markedly in various infected condition, and these molecular species were identified as potent pathologic agents. The activities of various antioxidant enzymes have close relationships to genereration and metabolism of oxygen free radicals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in the generation of superoxide radicals and activities of antioxidant enzymes and to compare histopathological changes in influenza A virus-induced maxillary sinusitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The experimental viral infection was induced in New Zealand white rabbits by inoculating 0.3 ml of influenza A virus. Maxillary sinus mucosa were examined with a light microscope and the generation of superoxide radicals and activity of antioxidant enzymes were measured at the intervals up to 28 days after inoculation. RESULTS: The mucosal changes deteriorated and reached maximum at seven days after inoculation. The first day of inoculation, mononuclear phagocytes and neutrophils began to be found in subepithelial layer. We also found that capacity of oxygen generation increased about one and a half fold compared with the non-infected control group. The activity of SOD, GSH-Px and CAT, which are specific scavengers of oxygen radicals, peaked at three, five, and seven days after viral inoculation, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that oxygen free radicals play an improtant role in the histopathologic damage in the early stage of influenza A viral infection, and the activities of antioxidant enzymes are enhanced by the generation of superoxide radicals. It is also indicated that antioxidant enzymes may have a therapeutic potential for this viral infection and other conditions associated with free radicals.
Animals ; Catalase ; Cats ; Free Radicals ; Glutathione Peroxidase ; Influenza A virus ; Influenza, Human* ; Maxillary Sinus ; Maxillary Sinusitis ; Metabolism ; Mucous Membrane ; Neutrophils ; Oxygen ; Phagocytes ; Rabbits* ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Sinusitis* ; Superoxide Dismutase ; Superoxides*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the short-term treatment outcomes of combined bifrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and tailor-made notched music training (TMNMT) in tinnitus patients. The associations of patient characteristics with treatment responsiveness were investigated. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Four sessions of bifrontal tDCS (F4: anode, F3: cathode) and TMNMT were conducted over a 2-week period in tinnitus patients. For tDCS, the stimulation intensity was 1.5 mA and the duration was approximately 20 min. During tDCS, patients listened to music lacking the frequency band within 1 octave of the tinnitus frequency. Patients were also instructed to listen to this music at home for at least 2 hours per day. One month after the final tDCS session, loudness (LD), awareness (AW), annoyance (AN), and effect on life (EL) of tinnitus were assessed subjectively using a visual analog scale. RESULTS: A total of 14 patients were enrolled in this study. After treatment, a 50% or greater improvement in AN, AW, EL, and LD was observed in 57.1, 42.9, 35.7, and 28.6% of patients, respectively. Furthermore, 78.6% of patients showed a 50% or greater improvement in their tinnitus handicap inventory scores. For AN, the absence of sleep disturbance was significantly associated with treatment responsiveness (p=0.041, OR=24.0). CONCLUSIONS: Combined bifrontal tDCS and TMNMT is a promising treatment for chronic tinnitus. To maximize the treatment outcomes of this therapy, sleep disturbances should also be addressed in candidate patients.
Electrodes ; Humans ; Music* ; Prognosis ; Tinnitus* ; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation* ; Visual Analog Scale

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in clinical manifestations of in two groups of vestibular neuritis (VN) patients with or without unidentified bright objects (UBOs). METHODS: A prospective, observational study with 46 patients diagnosed with VN between May 2013 and November 2013 was executed. A caloric test, a cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (cVEMPs) test, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), spontaneous nystagmus test, head impulse test, and head-shaking nystagmus test were performed. RESULTS: Of the patients, 56.5% (n=26) were classified as UBO-positive by MRI. These showed lower caloric weakness and more prominent cVEMP asymmetry compared with the UBO-negative group (P<0.05). Total VN (TVN) was the most common in the UBO-positive group (45.0%), followed by superior VN (SVN, 30.0%), and inferior VN (IVN, 25.0%). However, in the UBO-negative group, SVN (75.0%) was the most common, followed by TVN and IVN (P<0.05). The recovery rate was not influenced by UBOs (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: UBOs on T2-weighted or fluid attenuated inversion recovery MRI may affect the patterns of the vestibular nerve in patients with VN.
Brain* ; Caloric Tests ; Head Impulse Test ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Observational Study ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Vestibular Nerve ; Vestibular Neuronitis*