(Press-News.org) Inner Ear Stem-Cell Transplantation in Cochlear Cultures
Presenters: Dylan K. Chan, MD, PhD; Saku Sinkkonen, MD, PhD; Alan G. Cheng, MD; Stefan Heller, PhD
Time: 9:46 am
Location: Room 209
Boston, MA – Researchers have developed an in vitro system to investigate hair-cell regeneration techniques and evaluate the ability of transplanted inner-ear stem-cell spheres to integrate into the organ of Corti and differentiate into mature hair cells.
In a presentation at the 2010 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Boston, researchers revealed that co-culture between inner-ear stem-cell spheres and the neonatal organ of Corti is a useful model to evaluate. It could potentially optimize transplantation of inner-ear stem cells into the cochlea for hair-cell regeneration. Preliminary co-cultures show differentiation of adherent spheres into cells bearing hair-cell markers, but little evidence of precise integration into the sensory epithelium.
Biofilms in Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps
Presenters: Thiago Bezerra, MD; Francini Padua, MD, PhD; Eloisa Gebrim, MD, PhD; Paulo Saldiva, MD, PhD; Richard Voegels, MD, PhD
Time: 9:38 am
Location: Room 252
Boston, MA – The presence of biofilms in patients with chronic sinusitis with nasal polyps was studied between 2008 and 2009, in a tertiary care center.
In a presentation at the 2010 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Boston, researchers discussed a study group consisting of 33 consecutive patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with nasal polyps. The control group consisted of 27 control patients undergoing septoplasty for nasal obstruction without diagnosis of CRS. It is believed that biofilms may play a major role in chronic sinusitis without nasal polyps.
Communication Mode Disparity in Pediatric Cochlear Implants
Presenters: Meredith Edgerton, AuD, CCC-A; Abby Connell, MEd; Nevitte Morris, MA; Ted Meyer, MD, PhD; David White, MD
Time: 9:46 am
Location: Room 259
Boston, MA – Children with Medicaid were significantly more likely to become non-oral communicators after cochlear implants.
In a paper presented at the 2010 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Boston, researchers studied whether racial or insurance-based disparities exist in the development of oral communication after cochlear implantation (CI) in children. Data recorded and analyzed included race, age of implantation, communication mode, and insurance type.
Pediatric Ear Infections: Racial Disparities in Health Care
Presenters: Neil Bhattacharyya, MD; Nina Shapiro, MD; Kalpesh Vakharia, MSc, MD
Time: 9:46 am
Location: Room 259
Boston, MA – An annualized population of 4.65 million children in the United States report frequent ear infections (FEI).
Overall, the study showed that 3.7 percent could not afford care, 5.6 percent could not afford prescriptions, and only 25.8 percent saw a specialist. A larger percent of the black (42.7%) and Hispanic children (34.5%) with FEI were below the poverty level, versus white children (12.4%). Over 18% of Hispanic children were uninsured, versus 6.5% of white children.
In a paper presented at the 2010 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Boston, researchers concluded that racial/ethnic disparities among children with FEI significantly influence healthcare resource access and utilization. These disparities should be targeted for intervention.
Chronic Ear Disease in the Pacific: A 10-Year Review
Presenter: Jon Robitschek, MD
Time: 8:00 am
Location: Room 257
Boston, MA – For ten years, otolaryngology surgeons from Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) have been partnering with the Palau Ministry of Health to provide care for patients with ear, nose, and throat disorders.
In a paper presented at the 2010 AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Boston, researchers presented a ten-year retrospective review of surgical cases, success rates, and disease incidence within a unique Pacific island population.
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About the AAO-HNS
The American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (www.entnet.org), one of the oldest medical associations in the nation, represents more than 11,000 physicians and allied health professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the ears, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. The Academy serves its members by facilitating the advancement of the science and art of medicine related to otolaryngology and by representing the specialty in governmental and socioeconomic issues. The organization's vision: "Empowering otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons to deliver the best patient care."
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Intestinal worms sidestep the immune system by inducing the development of suppressive T cells, according to a study published on September 27th in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org).
Immune T cells are essential for the clearance of invading microbes, including intestinal worms, but turning off immune responses is essential for avoiding collateral tissue destruction. This job falls in part to a population of suppressive T cells called regulatory T (T reg) cells. A team of researchers, led by Rick Maizels at the University of Edinburgh, show that gut-invading ...
Acupuncture does not appear to aid in stroke recovery, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) (pre-embargo link only) http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj091113.pdf
Acupuncture is often used to supplement traditional stroke rehabilitation, although its effectiveness is uncertain. It is necessary to have evidence of effectiveness from rigorous randomized clinical trials to recommend routine therapeutic use.
This study, perhaps the most comprehensive to date as it includes trials published in English language and Asian journals, was ...
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Learning mindfulness meditation may help people who have multiple sclerosis (MS) with the fatigue, depression and other life challenges that commonly accompany the disease, according to a study published in the September 28, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
In the study, people who took an eight-week class in mindfulness meditation training reduced their fatigue and depression and improved overall quality of life compared to people with MS who received only usual medical care. The positive effects ...
One approach to an HIV vaccine is to teach the immune system to recognize certain protein structures on the viral surface and produce antibodies that bind to those structures and neutralize HIV. A strategy for designing such a vaccine involves identifying the key viral surface structures, snipping them off and developing a method to present these fragments to the immune system. When some parts of the surface of HIV are removed, however, they change shape such that antibodies no longer recognize and bind to them. A research team led by investigators at the Vaccine Research ...
Aging disrupts the balance between bone formation and bone destruction, resulting in osteoporosis, which is characterized by reduced bone mass and increased risk of fracture. Recent data have suggested that this imbalance is a result of a decrease in formation of bone forming osteoblast cells from mesenchymal cells upon aging. Instead, these cells form more fat cells. Insight into this age-related switch in cell type generation has now been provided by a team of researchers, led by Hiroshi Takayanagi, at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan, working in mice. The data ...
EDITOR'S PICK: Controlling bone formation to prevent osteoporosis
Aging disrupts the balance between bone formation and bone destruction, resulting in osteoporosis, which is characterized by reduced bone mass and increased risk of fracture. Recent data have suggested that this imbalance is a result of a decrease in formation of bone forming osteoblast cells from mesenchymal cells upon aging. Instead, these cells form more fat cells. Insight into this age-related switch in cell type generation has now been provided by a team of researchers, led by Hiroshi Takayanagi, at ...
RICHMOND, Va. (Sept. 27, 2010) – Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and VCU Massey Cancer Center researchers have shown that the impotence drug Viagra, in combination with doxorubicin, a powerful anti-cancer drug, enhances its anti-tumor efficacy in prostate cancer while alleviating the damage to the heart at the same time.
For more than four decades the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin has been used to treat a number of human cancers, including that of the prostate. Despite doxorubicin's clinical efficacy for cancer treatment, its use is associated ...
Researchers have shown that LIM kinase (LIMK), an important regulator of actin cytoskeleton dynamics, plays a key role in cancer metastasis. The study appears online on September 27 in The Journal of Cell Biology www.jcb.org.
Cancer metastasis is a multi-stage process that starts with the invasion of tumor cells into their surrounding tissue. The ability of metastatic cells to invade requires reorganization of the actin-myosin cytoskeleton, which is controlled by a sophisticated network of signals sent between a number of cellular components.
LIMK has been shown previously ...
STANFORD, Calif. - Add pine-bark extract to the list of dietary supplements that don't live up to their promises of improved health. A new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine shows that pine-bark extract had no effect in lowering blood pressure or reducing other risk factors for heart disease.
Senior author Randall Stafford, MD, PhD, said the findings are part of a growing body of evidence that antioxidant supplements don't improve heart function.
"While there's a good biological basis to presume that antioxidant supplements might have a beneficial ...
In about 40 percent of research participants undergoing medical imaging, radiologists may detect a tumor or infection unrelated to the study but that may be meaningful to the individual's health, according to a report in the September 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"An incidental finding in human subjects research is defined in a major consensus project as an observation 'concerning an individual research participant that has potential clinical importance and is discovered in the course of conducting research, but is beyond ...
