Biomedical subjects

A Schrott-Fischer

Publications and source records attributed to A Schrott-Fischer.

39 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Ciliary beat frequency, olfaction and endoscopic sinus surgery.

We assessed prospectively changes in olfaction and ciliary beat frequency (CBF) after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) in 70 patients with chronic sinusitis. CBF was measured by the microscopic-photometry technique 2, 4 and 6 months after FESS. Olfaction was evaluated by the Erlangener Smell Identification Test. Preoperative CBF was markedly reduced due to the infectious process. CBF was significantly improved (p < 0.001), reaching normal values 6 months postoperatively despite the endoscopic examination revealing normal nasal mucosa at around 3 months. The pattern of improvement of CBF was linear being more rapid between months 4 and 6. After operation olfactory-impaired patients were improved subjectively and objectively (p < 0.001 and p = 0.003). We conclude that impaired olfactory ability and CBF are significantly improved after FESS, and FESS demands longer postoperative follow-up periods for at least 6 months even if the clinical evaluations were normal.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of prostacyclin on hearing recovery after repetitive noise and on histomorphology of the inner ear in the guinea pig.

A probable relation between prostaglandin formation and the pathophysiology of hearing loss led to the application of the potent vasodilator prostacyclin in the treatment of inner ear disorders. Two drugs may be administered to humans: (1) unstable natural prostacyclin (epoprostenol) with a strong biological potency but with a high first-pass effect, or (2) a prostacyclin analogue (taprostene) with less biological activity, but a longer biological half-life and intravenous application. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate potential differences of both drugs in their effect on the inner ear. The therapeutic potency of both drugs was evaluated in a recently developed animal model consisting in the recovery of hearing after a temporary threshold shift obtained by two noise exposures at 100 dB. In addition, the ultrastructure of the stria vascularis was examined by electron microscopy after the application of the drugs. After administering epoprostenol (12 ng/kg body weight/min) and taprostene (25 ng/kg body weight/min) histomorphological alterations in the stria vascularis did not differ from the controls. In the repetitive low-level noise model, neither drug showed a significant difference in its effect on the recovery of the hearing threshold. The results indicate that in the guinea pig epoprostenol has the same effect on the hearing threshold as the stable analogue taprostene, as shown by auditory brain stem response.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Morphometric and ultrastructural findings on human vestibular ganglion cells.

Eight human temporal bones (4 patients) were fixed within 2 h after death by perilymphatic perfusion through the oval and round windows. After preparation, 30-micron-thick sections were cut for light microscopy and ultrathin sections for ultrastructural evaluation. Under the light microscope, the diameter, the circumference and the area of the vestibular ganglion cells were measured. The data were statistically analyzed. The histograms of cell measurements showed two maxima. When observing the diameter of cells, one was at 40 microns and the other at 28 microns. Under the light microscope, we could distinguish two cell types, which mainly differed in size and content of granules in the cytoplasm. Ultrastructurally we identified also two cell types: larger cells with many mitochondria, dark clusters of endoplasmic reticulum and a varying amount of dark-stained lysosomes in the cytoplasm and smaller cells with only few mitochondria, no lysosomes and an extended rough endoplasmic reticulum. None of the ultrastructurally analyzed ganglion cells were myelinated.

Cell Nucleus↗