Two rabbits were immunized with a pool of mocoid secretion from glue ears. The ear fluids formed up to three specific protein precipitation lines with the absorbed immune serum. One of these proteins was identified as containing acid and another as containing neutral glycoproteins, the third component remained unidentified. The data bring out new evidence of the active secretory capacity of the middle ear mucosa in secretory otitis media.

Albumins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Recruitment in conduction deafness. Observations using a midline loudness balance test.

A midline loudness balance test was made in 10 normal ears with blocked ear canals and in 104 conductively deaf ears with loss not exceeding 45 dB. The test was made by giving the tones simultaneously in the ears at 10, 60 and 80 dB sensation levels for 500 and 2 000 Hz. In the normal group the midline balance method indicated no reduction from the threshold differences at any of the three levels whereas significant reductions occurred in all groups of conduction deafness. The occurrence of true partial recruitment in conduction deafness demonstrated by ABLB (Fowler's) test was attributed to altered middle ear mechanics, loud tones stimulating the inner ear relatively more effectively than tones near the threshold level. The midline balance method is more closely dependent upon bone conducted sounds and on the altered relative movements of the labyrinthine windows.

Audiometry↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Aminotransferases in post-mortem cochlear fluids.

Aspartate and alanine aminotransferase (ASAT, ALAT) activities were measured in human post-mortem sera, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), perilymph and endolymph. Due to heart and/or liver morbidity during a terminal illness, the ASAT and ALAT serum activities were considerably increased as compared with normal and both were 20--30 times higher (p less than 0.001) than in CSF or inner ear fluids. CSF and inner ear fluids showed mutually similar values.

Alanine Transaminase↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Secretory otitis media. Comparison of nasal and aural cytology.

Aural and nasal cytology is compared in a series of 105 patients with secretory otitis media (SOM). In aural smears the cellular picture consisted mainly of lymphocytes, leukocytes and phagocytes but eosinophils and basophilic cells were absent. In the nose, the most frequent cells were leukocytes, while lymphocytes were seldom seen in greater numbers. Increased numbers of eosinophils were found in 20% of the patients. IgE values in the serum of 69 patients and in 8 aural effusions were mostly within normal limits and SOM could not be considered to be a result of circulating IgE-dependent reaction. Cytotoxic leukocyte test with food allergens to test this etiologic factor in SOM is at present in progress.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Surgical treatment of Meniere's disease.

Results are reported of the effect ov various surgical methods on vertigo in Meniere's disease. Minor preocedures like sacculotomy or application of NaCl crystals in the round window may effect a cure, but often results in deaf ears. Vestibular nerve section seems to offer the best of vertigo, while generally still preserving residual hearing.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Penetration of erythromycin stearate into maxillary sinus mucosa and secretion in chronic maxillary sinusitis.

The penetration of oral erythromycin stearate (Abboticin), administered in a dosage of 500 mg three times a day, into the maxillary sinus mucosa and secretion was studied in 15 patients (22 sinuses) operated on for chronic maxillary sinusitis. The average concentration in serum was 2.3 microgram/ml, 1.2 microgram/ml in secretion, and 1.8 microgram/ml in mucosa. These concentrations are highly effective against diplococci and most aerobic and anaerobic streptococci (MIC value 0.06 microgram/ml) but not against Haemophilus influenzae (MIC value for 80% of 2 microgram/ml).

Administration, Oral↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Otosclerosis surgery.

Results of otosclerosis surgery using the stapes footplate removal with various types of reconstruction are reported in 456 ears (360 patients). Primary success was obtained in around 95% while 83% retained their improvement over the years. The posterior crus on fascia has become the preferred method because of its stability and relative lack of inner ear complications. Inner ear damage is mostly due to perilymph fistulae, which should be promptly recognized and repaired, since revision after the ear has become deaf does not restore hearing. Some late inner ear losses may be due to reactions to foreign material introduced with the graft. Bilateral operations should not be done if the first operation was difficult or caused vertigo for several days.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Organ culture studies on human skin and cholesteatoma epithelium. Contact with connective tissue and exposure to vitamin A.

In tissue culture trunk skin from 8-day-old chick embryos showed a consistent change from keratinizing into more columnar non-keratinizing epithelium under the influence of vitamin A acid using concentrations from 10 to 20 IU/ml. Human adult postauricular and ear canal skin, cholesteatoma membrane, and human embryonic skin retained their keratinizing properties when exposed to vitamin A acid at concentrations up to 150 IU/ml, when toxic changes in the epithelium became obvious. Treatment of cholesteatoma ears with vitamin A ear drops is unlikely to effect any change in the keratinizing properties of the epithelium.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Diagnosis and surgery of acoustic tumours.

In the diagnosis of acoustic neuromata the stapedial reflex test, the forward vs reverse Békésy test, the loudness balance test, and the adaptation test have all been found superior among the special tests used in predicting a tumour diagnosis. Conventional X-ray studies of the internal acoustic meati are always performed, followed by tomograms and in suspected cases by meatocisternography. In the present series translabyrinthine total removal was performed in 21 cases, a planned decompression in 5, while in 2 the removal was subtotal. Only two permanent facial paralyses arose, one corrected by masseteric plasty and the other by facial-hypoglossal lateral perceptive hearing impairment as being caused by a tumour until proven otherwise.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Viral culture and electron microscopy of ganglion cells in Meniere's disease and Bell's palsy.

Specimens of Scarpa's ganglion during vestibular neurectomy were obtained in 6 cases of Meniere's disease and specimens of geniculate ganglion in 2 cases of total facial nerve decompression and studied by tissue culture methods for detection of possible herpes and cytomegalovirus infection. In electron microscopy inclusions in the form of interwoven yarn-like structures, coarse aggregates of chromatin and light nuclear bodies were found in several vestibular ganglion cells. No typical herpes virus virions could be demonstrated. The culture for viruses all proved finally negative. At present there is no proof that viruses are present in Scarpa's or geniculate ganglions but the possibility remains that the inclusion bodies observed might be viruses inactivated inside the ganglion cells.

Cell Nucleus↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Fluid pathways in temporal bones.

Five temporal bones were serially sectioned and studied concerning spread of erythrocytes and blood-derived precipitate in patients who died from subarachnoid hemorrhage. Erythrocytes followed the natural pathways--the cochlear aqueduct, the cochlear, vestibular, facial and glossopharyngeal nerves, and were demonstrable in the inner ear fluid spaces. The temporal bone marrow spaces were also filled with erythrocytes, particularly in the hypotympanal area. In the microimmunoelectrophoresis, no specific precipitation lines formed between the anti-CSF serum from rabbits and middle ear exudate from human ears with acute otitis media. Although, in animals, middle ear spaces have been shown to be connected to the middle ear space this does not seem to apply to human ears, and CSF fluid components are not involved in the formation of middle ear exudate.

Adult↗