(Press-News.org) CLEVELAND -- Clinical-researchers from University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center report that cochlear implantation provides an effective and safe way of restoring hearing in patients with far advanced otosclerosis (FAO), a hereditary condition that can lead to severe hearing loss.
"This is the first study to demonstrate that cochlear implants provide robust and long-term hearing restoration for patients with FAO," said lead author Maroun T. Semaan, M.D., an otolaryngologist with UH Case Medical Center and an Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. "This is an important new treatment option for this challenging group of patients."
FAO causes abnormal growth of bone in the middle and inner ear. This bone prevents structures within the ear from working properly and it diminishes hearing. Therapies have included fluoride pills to potentially prevent development of hearing loss, but they will not improve hearing loss that has already developed. Hearing aids are commonly prescribed for patients with FAO. Surgery is an option with an operation called a stapedectomy, or stapedotomy, where an otologist (ear surgeon) bypasses the diseased bone with a prosthetic device that allows sound waves to be passed to the inner ear. However, in cases with advanced disease, stapedectomy surgery is not effective in restoring hearing, and the patient is essentially deaf, even with the strongest hearing aids.
The authors studied the records of 30 patients with FAO with age-matched controls who suffered from hearing loss from other causes besides FAO. The researchers found that previous concerns about possible complications thought to potentially affect cochlear implantation in FAO patients were not seen using newer surgical techniques.
Cliff A. Megerian, MD, senior author on the study, noted, "Although a significant percentage of these patients required the additional operative step of 'round window drill out,' this finding in no way diminished the excellent hearing outcomes enjoyed using cochlear implantation. In addition, the study showed that the presence of abnormalities on radiographic imaging did not affect hearing following implantation." Dr. Megerian is Director, Otology, Neurotology, and Cochlear Implants, UH Case Medical Center, and a Professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
The findings were presented at the115th Annual Meeting of the Triological Society, the most prestigious meeting for ear, nose and throat specialists. Gail S. Murray, PhD, Director of Audiology Services at UH Case Medical Center, was also an author on the paper.
###
The study was funded by UH Case Medical Center.
About University Hospitals
University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of hospitals, outpatient centers and primary care physicians. At the core of our health system is University Hospitals Case Medical Center. The primary affiliate of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research centers of excellence in the nation and the world, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics and spine, radiology and radiation oncology, neurosurgery and neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, organ transplantation and human genetics. Its main campus includes the internationally celebrated UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked fourth in the nation for the care of critically ill newborns; UH MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; and UH Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. For more information, go to www.uhhospitals.org
END
Emirates Tours, a leading travel operator specialising in luxury holidays, has announced a new competition to win a travel bag made by designer luggage brand, Aspinal of London. The tour operator has teamed up with the luggage brand which shares its belief in high-quality products, in order to give back to its loyal customers through this unique opportunity.
"We are proud to be offering customers the chance to own an Aspinal of London Weekender Bag. When you are passionate about travel like we are, then arriving at your destination with stylish, top quality luggage ...
Carnivory is behind the evolutionary success of humankind. When early humans started to eat meat and eventually hunt, their new, higher-quality diet meant that women could wean their children earlier. Women could then give birth to more children during their reproductive life, which is a possible contribution to the population gradually spreading over the world.
The connection between eating meat and a faster weaning process is shown by a research group from Lund University in Sweden, which compared close to 70 mammalian species and found clear patterns.
Learning to ...
Studying a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, neuroscientists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen have observed correlations between increases in both soluble and plaque-forming beta-amyloid – a protein implicated in the disease process – and dysfunctional developments on several levels: individual cortical neurons, neuronal circuits, sensory cognition, and behavior. Their results, published in Nature Communications, show that these changes progress in parallel and that, together, they reveal distinct stages in Alzheimer's disease with a specific order in time.
In ...
INDIANAPOLIS — Neither screening for cognitive impairment nor screening followed by computerized alerts to the health care team improved patient outcome according to the first randomized, controlled study of care provided to hospitalized patients with cognitive impairment.
The study, conducted by researchers from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Medicine, screened 998 older adults for cognitive impairment within 48 hours of admission to the hospital. Approximately 40 percent were found to have cognitive impairment and were enrolled in the study. ...
Scientists have identified a link between different strains of malaria parasites that cause severe disease, which could help develop vaccines or drugs against life-threatening cases of the infection.
Researchers have identified a key protein that is common to many potentially fatal forms of the condition, and found that antibodies that targeted this protein were effective against these severe malaria strains.
The protein has sticky properties that enable it to bind to red blood cells and form dangerous clumps that can block blood vessels. These clumps, or rosettes, ...
When loggerhead turtles are accidentally captured by humans, a recovery process follows, the complexity of which varies according to the turtle's injuries. Spanish researchers have analysed the process of reintegrating these animals into the environment and they have discovered that there are changes in the behaviour of the turtles that have a complicated recovery process.
The study, which has been published in Aquatic Conservation-Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, involved placing satellite transmitters on the shell of 12 healthy, wild loggerhead turtles' (Caretta caretta), ...
The Radisson Blu Hotel Cape Town is delighted to announce that it will be refurbishing all 108 of its Standard rooms.
All Standard rooms will be receiving a make-over that will result in them having newly designed bathrooms and new bedroom furnishings. With pure, clean lines brought from a Scandinavian Minimalistic background, all the furnishings will present a definite look of effortless sophistication.
The Radisson Blu hotel Cape Town takes pride in providing a stay for guests that is both relaxing and outstanding. This includes having rooms that are sophisticated, ...
The development of new applications based on nanoimprinting techniques (NIL) is evolving at a rapid pace. But what are the challenges to be overcome in order to reach the market? How do we bridge the gap between basic research and its uptake from the industry? What are the tools needed for each product?
The European project NAPANIL deals exactly with this topic, i.e. Nanopatterning, Production and Applications based on Nanoimprinting Lithography. The project, now reaching its end, presented its final results over the last few days at Photonics Europe. The event took ...
Your best side may be your left cheek, according to a new study by Kelsey Blackburn and James Schirillo from Wake Forest University in the US. Their work shows that images of the left side of the face are perceived and rated as more pleasant than pictures of the right side of the face, possibly due to the fact that we present a greater intensity of emotion on the left side of our face. Their work is published online in Springer's journal Experimental Brain Research.
Others can judge human emotions in large part from facial expressions. Our highly specialized facial muscles ...
BOSTON, MA—When chromosomes replicate, sometimes there is an exchange of genetic material within a chromosome or between two or more chromosomes without a significant loss of genetic material. This exchange, known as a balanced chromosomal abnormality (BCA), can cause rearrangements in the genetic code.
Researchers from 15 institutions in three countries including Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and the Broad Institute found that due to these rearrangements, BCAs harbor a reservoir of disruptions in the code ...
