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Biomedical subjects

S Monini

Publications and source records attributed to S Monini.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Local pressure protocol, including Meniett, in the treatment of Ménière's disease: short-term results during the active stage.

Treatment of Ménière's disease (MD) is still controversial and pressure changes transmitted to the inner ear have been reported to have effects similar to those of other non-surgical therapies. This paper reports on a clinical trial of MD patients which has been carried out using a portable piece of equipment, called Meniett, which delivers a pulsed, controlled, positive pressure to the middle ear, provided that a ventilation tube (VT) has previously been inserted. A comparison was made of the number of vertigo spells during the 2 months before treatment and during the 40-day treatment period. In addition, within this latter period a comparison was made between use of VT and use of VT + Meniett. Use of VT only had a positive effect in 90% of patients, with either absence (n = 10: 50%) or marked reduction (n = 8; 40%) in episodes of vertigo. When Meniett was also applied, stabilization of the positive effect on vertigo was registered, with a concomitant improvement in hearing threshold in 2 patients (10%). Although a longer and more reliable long-term follow-up of this treatment is needed, it is possible to propose the use of this therapeutic approach as it has been proven to induce a dramatic improvement in the symptoms affecting patients with Ménière's disease during reactivation of the disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Clarion cochlear implants: surgical implications.

The surgical aspects of 34 Clarion cochlear implants, positioned during a five-year period on 31 profoundly-deaf subjects as primary (11 children, 20 adults) and revision surgery (one child, three adults) were taken into consideration. Intra- and post-operative complications related to the specific structure of this device were considered along with the benefits obtained by update of the hardware and surgical approach. A smaller thickness of the internal receiver as well as the shifting from a retro-auricular/sub-temporal (RA-ST) to an endaural-retromastoid (EA-RM) approach have contributed to a dramatic drop in post-operative complications, such as skin defect or device extrusion. Special care should, however, be taken when cochlear implantation is planned in ears with chronic otitis or its surgical sequelae. From the two revised cases (hardware failure, electrode displacement) in whom re-implantation in the same side was performed, it has been demonstrated that the helicoidal shape of the electrode carrier is not inducing any additional trauma to the cochlear structure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Transforming growth factor-beta1 expression in human acoustic neuroma.

HYPOTHESIS: The differing clinical behavior of acoustic neuroma (AN) may be explained by the presence of specific biological features involved in tumorigenesis and growth. BACKGROUND: Transforming growth factor (TGF) beta1 is known to participate in the regulation of peripheral nerve tumors, modulating cell proliferation and differentiation with mechanisms different from those of glial growth factors (GGF) and fibroblastic growth factors (FGF), which are responsible for Schwann cells' mitogen activity. METHODS: Surgically removed human AN specimens were fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin for immunohistochemistry studies. Expression and localization of TGF-beta1 in different tumor regions were assessed after incubation of paraffin sections with a mouse monoclonal anti-TGF beta1 antibody (DBA, Milan, Italy). Clinically, the time elapsed between the beginning of symptomatology and AN size as shown by preoperative computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, or both was calculated as rough value of growth rate, which enabled slow-growing and fast-growing ANs to be distinguished. RESULTS: Eighty-four percent of AN specimens expressed TGF-beta1 positivity at the level of the cytoplasm of the Schwann cells. TGF-beta1 reactivity was also shown in the blood vessel walls (96.15%) and the tumor capsule (80.86%). TGF-beta1 reaction appeared higher in Antoni A regions than in Antoni B regions. No significant relationship was found between TGF-beta1 positivity and AN growth rate in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: TGF-beta1 could participate in the biological behavior of AN, particularly as an important factor of tumor growth prediction by allowing rapidly progressive or potentially recurrent tumors to be differentiated from slow-growing tumors that are unlikely to recur. The clinical course of patients with AN is currently still of little help in predicting the rate of AN growth.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Clarion cochlear implant: short-term effects on voice parameters.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the moment-to-moment auditory control of voice at an early stage after implantation with Clarion cochlear implants. STUDY DESIGN: A perceptive and electroacoustic evaluation of the voice was carried out through a digital analysis immediately after the activation of the implant, before the fitting procedure has begun. SETTING: The study was performed at the Department of Otolaryngology, University "La Sapienza" of Rome. PATIENTS: Nine profoundly deaf subjects (five post-linguistic deaf adults, two pre-linguistic deaf children and two peri-linguistic deaf subjects, one adult and one child). INTERVENTION: Surgical insertion of a Clarion cochlear device. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Qualitative (short-term pitch and energy perturbation, intonation, vocal attack, quality, and intensity) and quantitative (F0, F1, F2 and F3 frequency values), under non activated (NAI) and activated (AI) condition, have been obtained. RESULTS: In the majority of patients, the perceptive evaluation under AI showed a lowering of voice intonation, a better control of voice intensity, and a reduction of nasal quality. These findings were confirmed by a significant lowering of F0 (Wicoxon non parametric test) in all cases and lowering of F1 and F2 in five cases. Additionally, a better definition of all formats in the majority of cases as well as by a parallelism of pitch and energy profile was observed. CONCLUSIONS: The Clarion cochlear implant device provided a recognizable moment-to-moment auditory control on voice and articulatory patterns. By monitoring the articulated voice during adjustment of the electrical stimulation at the first fitting session, one may be able to include these data and assist in the selection of the best rehabilitative strategy.

Adolescent↗
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↗
PubMed1995

[The variation of the vestibular response vs. the variations of the auditory threshold after administration of glycerol in patients with Meniere's disease].

Vestibular and auditory functions after glycerol intake were assessed correlated in twenty-eight patients diagnosed as menieric according to AAOO criteria. All patients had unilateral Ménière's disease confirmed by monolateral hypoacusia and labyrinthine hypofunction. Hearing thresholds were tested by tone-audiometry, according to the standard glycerol test. Variation in vestibular response were assessed comparing the VOR during the rotatory sinusoidal test as well as the caloric test, before glycerol intake and 2 hours after drug administration. Slow phase angolar velocity, directional preponderance percentile and percentile variation between basic and control observation were calculated. The audiometric glycerol test was positive in 58% of the cases. The vestibular glycerol test was positive in 30% of the cases and no correlation between and individual results hearing threshold result was found. The findings reported by other Authors regarding auditory and vestibular responses to glycerol intake were verified. Possible reasons which may account for variation with regard to reaction patterns in the acoustic and non acoustic labyrinth after glycerin administration are discussed. In the Authors' view, incoherence between vestibular and cochlear response might be linked to differences in the physiology of the fluid in the two labyrinths. In the vestibular district, glycerol might induce an early depletive effect and a later paradoxal effects due to mechanical modification of the ampulla function.

Audiometry, Pure-Tone↗
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↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Cytologic findings on chronic inflammatory disease of the vocal folds].

The usefulness of cytologic diagnosis in laryngeal pathology is still controversial, also in the cytopathologist's opinion. A sampling procedure such as routine cytodiagnosis can be considered useful for both diagnosis and treatment of non-surgically related laryngeal diseases. This study was designed in order to demonstrate how cytodiagnosis can be useful in etiologic and pathogenetic diagnosis of chronic non-specific inflammatory diseases of the vocal folds. Cytologic sampling was carried out on brushing material of simple and hyperplastic laryngeal inflammations and on normal vocarfolds which were used as control. Through cytologic examination it was possible to evidence specific morphological findings which allowed differentiation of not only healthy from diseased vocal cords, but also hyperplastic from simple inflammatory processes. Moreover, the high incidence of goblet cells and cylindric squamous metaplasia in hyperplastic corditis, as well as the frequent presence of fungal involvement in the simple forms, prompted the Authors to hypothesize pathogenetic mechanisms as well as progression inducing factors of the pathologies in question.

Carcinoid Tumor↗