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Biomedical subjects

R Filipo

Publications and source records attributed to R Filipo.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Relationship between ENT specialists and deaf community.

The relationship between the ENT specialist and the Deaf Community is discussed along with the relative role of the non-medical consultants who come into contact with this group of people. Suggestions are made to the clinician for a correct approach to deaf persons: acquisition of adeguate tools for communication and clear and understandable information. In this communication and clear and understandable information. In this context, the advent of Cochlear Implants and their impact on the Deaf Community are taken into consideration.

Cochlear Implants↗
PubMed1995

Expression of steroid receptors in acoustic neuroma.

The expression of steroid receptors has been investigated in an attempt to clarify the role of steroid hormones in the proliferation and progression of acoustic neuromas. Specimens of tumours taken during translabyrinthine surgery were tested for cytosolic (c) and nuclear (n) steroid receptors. Oestrogen and progesterone receptor levels were evaluated by enzymatic immuno-assay, while androgen receptor binding levels were detected by dextran-coated charcoal method in a single-step determination. In some cases, the six point Scatchard analysis of cytosolic and nuclear androgen receptor was also performed. Threshold values were: 3 fmol/mg of proteins for cytosolic steroid receptors and 20 fmol/mg DNA for nuclear steroids, which corresponded to approximate median values of cytosolic and nuclear oestrogen and progesterone, respectively. Oestrogen and progesterone appeared to be localized more frequently in the nuclei rather than in the cytosol (70% oestrogen and progesterone positivity in the nuclei; 30% oestrogen, 40% progesterone positivity in the cytosol), while androgen receptors were preferentially localized in the cytosol (80% positivity in the cytosol; 40% positivity in the nuclei). A negative non-linear correlation between cytosolic oestrogen and cytosolic androgen receptors was found. There was a direct linear correlation between cytosolic oestrogen and nuclear oestrogen levels. A strict correlation between nuclear oestrogen and nuclear progesterone incidence was shown. Preliminary analysis of clinical data and biochemical parameters showed that cytosolic progesterone levels inversely correlated with tumour size.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Early hearing evaluation after microdrill stapedotomy.

Stapedectomy is known to give good results for otosclerosis. In this study, an audiometric evaluation of patients who underwent small-opening stapedotomy has been carried out at an early stage (3 and 5 days after surgery), and 1 month after surgery. At day 5 almost 60% of the patients showed a good functional result (mean residual post-op air conduction/pre-op bone conduction gap within 5 dB). While the timing of 4 kHz recovery overlapped that of the lower frequencies, recovery for 8 kHz was evident only at day 30, and was less likely to occur than for 4 kHz.

Audiometry, Pure-Tone↗
PubMed1994

Natural course of Menière's disease in surgically-selected patients.

Menière's disease (MD) is considered a complex otologic disorder characterized by exacerbation and remission periods which often make its natural course unpredictable. Several studies in the past have analyzed the evolutionary course of MD through comparison between patients under medical treatment and those surgically treated. The present paper aimed to study the evolution of MD in a group of patients who were selected for endolymphatic sac surgery on the basis of a fluctuating stage and uncontrollable recurrent vertigo; some of them, however, did not undergo surgery for different reasons and were used as control for MD at a homogenous stage. Vertigo and tinnitus were improved by surgery in a significant number of patients in comparison with the non-surgical group. Hearing function, which improved few months after surgery in some patients, was found to deteriorate in the long run, in surgical and non-surgical groups. Sac surgery yielded significantly better results for two out of three Meniere's symptoms, i.e. vertigo and tinnitus, and can be considered to play a significant role in the therapy of MD at the fluctuating stage.

Ear, Inner↗
PubMed1993

False-positive MRI in a patient with otoneurological pathology.

After a short survey on the diagnostic work-up for acoustic neuroma, the authors underline the importance of magnetic resonance (MRI), enhanced by gadolinium, for otoneurological pathology. Through the presentation of a clinical case, the pros and cons for the routine application of MRI in suspect cerebellopontine angle (CPA) tumours in particular are reviewed. The possibility of false-positive MRI findings is discussed, although in this specific case a proper therapeutic approach was eventually carried out in order to resolve the associated VIIth nerve disturbance.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Initial experience of peroperative electrocochleography monitoring in stapedectomy.

Clinical experience of intraoperative ECochG monitoring during stapes surgery is reported. Selected surgical phases have been taken into consideration, laying particular stress on the phase corresponding to the opening of the labyrinthine spaces. Compound action potential (CAP) amplitude and latency showed, a supposed, an inversely proportional relationship in most of the cases. Abnormal findings were also recorded in some patients, thus giving rise to different electrophysiological hypotheses. A proposal for an "in vivo" model for the study of the electrophysiological changes due to the opening of labyrinthine spaces is made.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Effect of intraoperative manipulation and preservation on fascia temporalis used in tympanoplasty.

Fascia temporalis (FT) is generally used as grafting material for primary or revision surgery for chronic ear disease. In the latter case, homologous FT, stored in various solutions after the intraoperative preparation, that aims to dehydrate, is often used. In this study, an ultrastructural analysis of FT has been carried out in order to determine whether its structure is affected by the different steps that take place before its application as a homograft. As well as light, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, immunoperoxidase technique for testing monoclonal antibodies against different collagen types was performed. The surface appearance of FT proved to be increasingly affected by the intraoperative manoeuvres. Moreover, 10% formalin proved to give a better preservation of the surface appearance of FT than did 70% alcohol which, also after a short period of preservation (15 days), caused severe surface alterations. No particular changes in the ultrastructural appearance of FT were noticed that could have been attributed to the length of preservation. Type IV collagen was detected in the 30-day samples of both alcohol- and formalin-preserved specimens. From these results, one can speculate that, despite the major ultrastructural changes induced in FT by the intraoperative preparation and by its preservation, this tissue is still able to maintain a proper connective network. This finding could explain the reliability of homologous FT for the repair of tympanic membrane perforations.

Ethanol↗
PubMed1990

Effect of mechanical trauma on the stapedial footplate after stapedectomy. A scanning electron microscopic study.

The possible occurrence of inner-ear trauma linked to stapedectomy was studied by scanning electron microscopy of the medial (or labyrinthine) side of human stapedial footplates after performing a hole with different instruments. The anatomic variations induced experimentally by the different procedures are presented in detail and discussed. Manual instruments were shown to induce irregularities on the rim of the hole, whilst the utilization of either electric or pneumatic drills produced more regular margins. Finally, laser-produced holes were also examined. Rather neat rims were observed, but the thermal effect produced by this device has to be considered the major parameter involved in a possible inner-ear postoperative trauma.

Humans↗
PubMed1989

Does severe water deprivation affect the inner ear? An experimental study of the gerbilline endolymphatic sac.

Through an ultrastructural study of the endolymphatic duct (ED) and sac (ES) system, the effects of an impaired body fluid metabolism on the inner ear fluid environment in the mongolian gerbil has been evaluated. A dehydrative state has been determined depriving of water for both five and twelve days this desert animal, which is known to withstand long periods of water abstinence. The morphological changes of the ED and ES under these circumstances have been compared with those induced by ethacrynic acid intoxication. Although the cochlear partition did not show signs of damage, the ED and ES system seems to be negatively influenced by the dehydrative state and displays a marked imbibition of the subepithelial tissue, which at places shows accumulation of an organic matrix. A regulating role for the antidiuretic hormone on the inner ear fluids of the mongolian gerbil is also proposed and discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

High-frequency audiometry in children.

On the grounds of recent literature and of their own previous studies, the authors have examined a group of 25 normal-hearing children, ranging from 7 to 10 years of age, with high-frequency audiometry. The results were compared with those obtained in a group of young adults. On the basis of these findings, average threshold values were derived for this age group; such data have not yet been published for this simple headset technique. Furthermore, the comparison between the two age groups enabled the authors to determine a deterioration of the high-frequency hearing threshold which takes place at a fairly early age. Reliability of the equipment, in which headphones were used as transducers, was checked and the reproducibility for this test was shown to be adequate, as seen from the low test-retest variability.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Psychologic evolution of patients with Menière's disease in relation to therapy.

The state of anxiety experienced by menieric patients indicates the importance of the psychologic component in this disease. Uncertainties as to the type of treatment that is actually curative for this disease have put doubts on the favorable outcome for patients referred for endolymphatic shunt procedures; some clinicians claim that in such cases surgery simply had a psychologic support function. To evaluate the effectiveness of such a statement, the authors have studied three groups of patients: patients who underwent surgery; patients who underwent medical treatment; and nonmenieric, otosclerotic subjects prior to surgery as a control group. The first group was further divided into subjects with and without improvement after surgery. The following personality tests were used: Minnesota Multiphase Personality Inventory, reduced version; Adjective Check List; State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; and Symptom Check List. The results relative to the whole menieric group show a tendency toward a state of dysphoria and more striking somatizations than in the otosclerotic group. In regard to the distinction between operated and nonoperated patients, the former group showed a personality with a strong neurotic trait associated with dysphoria and a state of free anxiety tending toward hypochondria. The outcome of the operation (improvement of the vertigo) does not seem to influence the personality of the subjects, even though there are signs of higher anxiety levels than in subjects without improvement.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Pitch discrimination for complex sounds in normal and hearing impaired ears.

On the grounds of previous researches on periodicity and virtual pitch, the present paper describes the results of some experiments on pitch extraction in normal ears and in subjects with sensorineural hearing loss of cochlear origin, with harmonic and inharmonic stimuli. The latter stimuli are constituted by complex tones with constant ratios between the frequency of adjacent components; for this reason the term geometric spectrum is used. These stimuli can be considered as an alternative to harmonic stimuli, since inharmonic components play an important role in sound analysis and therefore in the perception of sound. Comparison between the data obtained in experimental measurements from normal and hearing impaired subjects (also in relation to the estimates predicted by a mathematical model for pitch), revealed that pitch extracted by hearing impaired subjects tends to be shifted towards the high frequencies.

Hearing Loss, Sensorineural↗
PubMed1986

Rehabilitation of radical mastoidectomy.

Radical mastoidectomy has for years been the method chosen for the treatment of chronic middle ear disease. The numerous inflammatory problems linked to this cavity have been dealt with differently by various authors. We have examined the literature and refer to our own data, from a study carried out in twenty-four subjects, showing unsatisfactory results subsequent to a previous radical mastoidectomy. In ten of these subjects, middle ear cleft reconstruction was performed using a posterior canal wall prosthesis in Ceravital; in the remaining fourteen subjects complete obliteration with costal cartilage and a mixture of bone paté and fibrin glue (Tissucol) was carried out. In both groups the reconstruction of the conductive system was carried out by the insertion of total or partial ossicular replacement prostheses in Plastipore. The comparison of findings in the two groups revealed slightly better functional results in all two-stage procedures and in reconstructions performed with Ceravital. However, the one-stage procedure proved to be equally effective in resolving the inflammatory problems.

Biocompatible Materials↗
PubMed1985

Juvenile Menière's disease.

The authors report their experience in the diagnosis and treatment of Menière's disease in childhood. They believe it to be essential to carry out a complete battery of audio-vestibular tests, with particular reference to dehydration procedures, which in this age group are considered to be more significant for a correct diagnosis than in adults. After stressing the importance of eliminating other forms of disease which manifest themselves with vertigo, the authors conclude by asserting the efficacy of medical treatment with diuretics and they support the surgical procedure of endolymphatic-mastoid drainage as a valid means of contending with the hydrops.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

High-frequency audiometry above 8 kHz. Comparative results of normative thresholds obtained with a headphone system and a quasi-free-field system.

Since a standard method for high-frequency audiometry does not yet exist, the authors, using 20 young subjects, compare the results obtained with a quasi-free-field system devised by Osterhammel et al. [Scand. Audiol. 6:91-95, 1977] and those obtained by a headphone system. The headphone system is considered to be better, because it offers many practical advantages.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

External ear canal exostosis and aquatic sports.

Many reports suppose that the development of aural exostosis depends on the action of an irritative stimulus like frequent and repeated cold water contact. This survey studies the incidence of this lesion in a group of 433 athletes practicing aquatic sports on a highly competitive level. Among these, water activities like sailing and deep-sea diving, which up to now were never considered, were also studied. 32 exostoses were found to affect 12 subjects monolaterally and 20 subjects bilaterally. Not one of a control group of 476 athletes was found to be affected by aural exostosis. For each athlete in this study the following parameters are considered: age and sex, type of sport, total amount of hours spent in water contact, aural pathology history and otoscopic findings. The authors suggest the existence of facilitating factors other than total water contact time, as shown by the absence of a precise correlation between this parameter and the presence of the aural hyperostotic lesion.

Diving↗