Acta oto-laryngologica. Supplementum最新文献

Conclusion: These results suggest that middle ear fibroblasts contribute to the recruitment of Th2 cells into the middle ear by producing thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC).

Objectives: Intractable otitis media is more common in atopic subjects and asthmatics than in the otherwise normal population. Although type 2 T helper (Th2) cytokines play crucial roles in the middle ear of these populations, the mechanism underlying the predominance of Th2 cytokines has yet to be clarified. TARC has been known to facilitate recruitment of Th2 polarized cells, resulting in high levels of Th2 cytokines in the middle ear. We investigated whether middle ear-derived fibroblasts produce TARC when stimulated with poly(I:C) and Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-13).

Materials and methods: Fibroblast lines were established from middle ear mucosa. TARC mRNA expression was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR. The amount of TARC in the culture supernatants was measured by ELISA.

Results: Poly(I:C) induced only TARC gene expression in middle ear-derived fibroblasts. Combined stimulation with poly(I:C) and Th2 cytokine (IL-4, IL-13) synergistically induced TARC production by the cultured middle ear-derived fibroblasts. This response was dose and time dependent.

Conclusions: Oxygen consumption by bacteria could be a cause of the negative middle ear pressure in ears with otitis media (OM).

Objective: To determine whether oxygen consumption by bacteria could be a cause for production of negative pressure in ears with OM.

Materials and methods: Hermetically sealed bottles containing high dose (group A) and low dose (group B) of Streptococcus pneumoniae with air space and maintained at 37 degrees C in a water bath were connected to a micropressure sensor. The chronological pressure changes were monitored in vitro for 3-13 h and were compared with those in the control bottles containing culture medium only.

Results: The pressure of the group A samples showed significantly lower values than that of controls 3 h later (p<0.0001). In group B, the pressure was also significantly lower than that in the control group (p<0.0001). The partial pressures of oxygen measured at the beginning and end of the experiment in the six samples in group B showed significant decrease, while that in the control group showed only a slight decrease (p<0.0019).

Conclusion: Most of the clinical cases experienced taste disturbance after stapes surgery, and in a few cases this disturbance persisted for a long time. The animal experiment suggested the role of geniculate ganglion (GG) cells in nerve generation.

Objectives: To clinically examine taste disorder and its recovery after stapes surgery and experimentally demonstrate a role of GG.

Patients and methods: Taste function after preservation of chorda tympani nerve (CTN) in stapes surgery was prospectively investigated with a questionnaire and electrogustometry (EGM). Further, expression of neurotrophic factors in GG after injury of CTN was examined by in situ hybridization histochemistry (ISSH) and RT-PCR.

Results: Among the cases, 15/18 (83.3%) were associated with taste disturbance and 6/18 (33.3%) were associated with tongue numbness 2 weeks after surgery; however, the symptoms ceased in 14/18 cases (77.8%). Two weeks after surgery, the EGM threshold was found to be elevated in 15/18 cases (83.3%), while in 10/18 cases (55.6%), it did not decrease until 1 year after surgery. Expression of ISSH and amplified bands of BDNF and GFR increased at 7 and 14 days after nerve injury in ipsilateral GGs and also increased at 7 days on the contralateral side.

Conclusion: These results suggest that noise induces free radical formation in the cochlea and that, in the guinea pig, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) may play an important role in the recovery from noise trauma in the organ of Corti.

Objective: Free radicals are involved in noise-induced hearing loss. It has been demonstrated that the induction of HO-1 may protect cells exposed to oxidative challenge. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of intense noise exposure on HO-1 induction.

Materials and methods: A total of 25 adult guinea pigs (body weight 200-300 g) with a normal Preyers's reflex were used as subjects. Based on preliminary tests, the appropriate intensities and durations of noise were determined that were adequate to induce apparent threshold shifts and lead to various recovery patterns to initial thresholds. The sound was routed through a power amplifier to a speaker, which was positioned directly over the animals in a sound chamber. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing, Western blot analysis for HO-1, and immunohistochemical testing were done.

Results: Exposure of the guinea pigs to 115 dB SPL octave band noise for 5 h induced HO-1 expression in the organ of Corti. In the organ of Corti, HO-1 expression increased mainly in the outer hair cells. Some expression of HO-1 was observed before and after noise exposure in the supporting cells. HO-1 expression in the organ of Corti was definitely increased in guinea pigs with an intense noise exposure which causes a temporary threshold shift.

Conclusion: Immunohistochemical detection of Reelin in granular cells and disabled-1 in cochlear nucleus suggests a possible Reelin signaling pathway in mature rat cochlear nucleus.

Materials and methods: Six-week-old Wister rats were used throughout this study. The expression of reelin and disabled-1 were studied by using in situ hybridization technique and immunohistochemistry.

Results: Reelin mRNA expression was observed in granular cell layer of dorsal cochlear nucleus. Immunohistochemistry using anti-reelin monoclonal antibodies confirmed reelin expression in granule cells at protein level. We also examined disabled-1 expression in cochlear nucleus and observed positive immunoreactivity in both ventricular and dorsal cochlear nucleus. In the dorsal cochlear nucleus, fusiform and cartwheel cells were labeled. In the ventricular cochlear nucleus, relatively large cells were labeled with anti-disabled-1 polyclonal antibody but the subtypes of disabled-1 positive cells could not be identified.

Conclusion: The subjective visual vertical (SVV) test can detect abnormality of the otolithic organs and the graviceptive pathways present in a considerable number of patients having dizziness but presenting no abnormal findings in conventional vestibular function tests.

Objective: To evaluate whether the SVV test can detect dysfunction of the otolithic organs and perception of gravity in patients with dizziness having no abnormal finding on routine tests for the vestibular system.

Patients and methods: Forty-four patients who complained of chronic dizziness but had no abnormal finding on routine tests for vestibular system and on brain MRI studies were selected between 2004 and 2006. SVV tests were performed on these patients. Patients with chronic dizziness caused by apparent psychogenic disorders, such as depression, were excluded.

Results: Among the 44 patients, 3 showed abnormal tilts of SVV. The latter three patients had deep white matter hyperintensities on their MRI, probably due to aging.

Conclusions: We conclude that neck imaging should be carried out for patients with persistent paroxysmal positional vertigo following diagnostic and/or therapeutic maneuvers.

Objective: It is sometimes complicated to diagnose patients with vertigo that is transiently induced by head and neck positioning. Neck-vestibular diseases also induce vertiginous sensation with head and neck movement and need to be ruled out for the diagnosis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).

Patients and methods: Two elderly female patients visited our hospital with complaints of transient vertigo induced by Dix-Hallpike positioning, suggesting posterior canal BPPV. We carried out gadolinium-enhanced neck MRI in both these cases.

Results: The positional nystagmus was not clearly observed or vertiginous sensation did not show any decay during repeated vestibular examination in either case. These cases were finally diagnosed as spinal cord intradural extramedullary tumor (C3-C4) by means of neck MRI.

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that functional MRI (fMRI) combined with a questionnaire is a useful method for studying the neuroanatomy of olfaction. Further studies with various odorants and questionnaires would provide an even better understanding of the mechanism of olfactory perception.

Objectives: To better understand the mechanism of odorant perception in the central nervous system.

Subjects and methods: fMRI was used to identify the activated regions during stimulation by two odorants, beta-phenyl ethyl alcohol and gamma-undecalactone. Participants were asked to describe the quality of the odor and to rate odor intensity and odor hedonic valence. Activation at each region was statistically analyzed according to the answers.

Results: The bilateral middle orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), left lateral OFC, right insula, and bilateral anterior/middle cingulate gyri were most frequently activated by odor stimulation. Left middle OFC was significantly more often activated in the participants who could not identify the odor correctly (p = 0.016). The left middle OFC and right lateral OFC were significantly more often activated in the participants who perceived the odor stimulation as unpleasant (p = 0.03), while the right anterior cingulate gyrus was more often activated in those who perceived the odor as pleasant (p = 0.03).

Conclusion: The curry odorant of the odor stick identification test for Japanese (OSIT-J) is useful in screening for olfactory impairment in Japanese subjects.

Objective: The present study was designed to determine the most useful odorant of the OSIT-J in screening for olfactory impairment in Japanese subjects.

Subjects and methods: We studied olfactory impairment screening with the OSIT-J in 83 participants (49 male, 34 female; average age 50 years) in an executive check-up at NTT West Kanazawa Hospital. Olfactory discrimination acuity was evaluated with three odorants of the OSIT-J (rose, curry, and sweaty-smelling clothes), each known to be significantly correlated with the assessment of the Japanese standard olfaction test (T&T olfactometer). Those participants who did not score full marks in tests with the three odors were assessed with another nine odorants of the OSIT-J.

Results: The positive predictive value was 100% in the screening with the curry odorant. In 38 participants who did not identify all three odors correctly, the identification of the curry odor was significantly correlated with the scores for all 12 odors (p<0.005). Identification of the curry odor was not significantly correlated with identification of the menthol odor of OSIT-J.