Determination risk factors for severe and profound hearing loss in child candidates for cochlear implantation in southeast of Iran during 2014-2020.

BACKGROUND: Hearing loss can have a major impact on children's language development, academic success and hearing comprehension. The aim of the present study was to determinate risk factors for severe and profound hearing loss in child candidates for cochlear implantation in southeast of Iran during 2014-2020. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This case-control study consisted of 400 children referring to a cochlear implant center (in southeastern Iran) from Bandar Abbas, Zahedan and Kerman during the years 2014-2020 as cases. The subjects were selected using the random sampling method; 200 children hospitalized in Shafa and Afzalipour hospitals were selected as controls. RESULTS: Based on the results of the multivariate logistic regression, weight less than 1500 g (OR = 4.40: p < 0.05), hospitalization in NICU (OR = 7.21: p < 0.05), family history of hearing loss (OR = 11.47: p < 0.05), Gestational age over 35 (OR = 9.63: p < 0.05), intracranial hemorrhage (OR = 5.18: p < 0.05), consanguineous marriage (OR = 12.48: p < 0.05) and high fever and seizures (OR = 3.02: p < 0.05) were recognized as risk factors for sensorineural deafness in children. CONCLUSION: Most of the risk factors for deafness are preventable, and hereditary factors play an important role in congenital deafness in children. Therefore, genetic counseling before consanguineous marriage, early diagnosis, timely intervention can prevent many cases of hearing loss in children.

A Prospective Study of the Effect of Tinnitus Sound Matching Degree on the Efficacy of Customized Sound Therapy in Patients with Chronic Tinnitus.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore and compare the customized sound therapy effect between tinnitus sound matching and nonmatching patients in tinnitus customized sound therapy and therapy-related influencing factors. METHODS: This prospective study investigated a total of 100 patients with unilateral chronic tinnitus who received customized sound therapy. The participants were dichotomously divided into matching (group A) and nonmatching (group B) groups after 4 stages of tinnitus matching via the tinnitus assistant app (provided by Sound Ocean Company, SuZhou, China). Each group consists of 50 participants. Before and 6 months after the treatment, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), and tinnitus loudness Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were used to evaluate the customized sound therapy effect and explore other related influencing factors. RESULTS: (1) The HADS-A, HADS-D, THI, and VAS scores of 2 groups were both significantly decreased after treatment. (2) The HADS-A and THI scores improved markedly in group A than that in group B, which could be related to the hearing loss of the tinnitus side ear before treatment; the lighter the degree of hearing loss, the better the improvement. No statistically significant differences were detected in HADS-D and VAS scores between the 2 groups, and also, these were not related to the degree of hearing loss. The differences in age, gender, and tinnitus duration did not show any statistically significant effect on the improvement of the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: Both tinnitus sound matching and nonmatching of the customized sound therapy brought a significant effect to tinnitus participants. Our study also suggests that THI and HADS-A scores of those with tinnitus matching participants improved markedly as compared to those of nonmatching participants, and the customized sound therapy effect is negatively correlated with the severity of hearing loss.

Diagnosis, Intervention, and Prevention of Genetic Hearing Loss.

It is estimated that at least 50% of congenital or childhood hearing loss is attributable to genetic causes. In non-syndromic hearing loss, which accounts for 70% of genetic hearing loss, approximately 80% of cases are autosomal recessive, 15% autosomal dominant, and 1-2% mitochondrial or X-linked. In addition, 30% of genetic hearing loss is syndromic. The genetic causes of hearing loss are highly heterogeneous. So far, more than 140 deafness-related genes have been discovered. Studies on those genes tremendously increased our understanding of the inner ear functions at the molecular level. It also offers important information for the patients and allows personalized and accurate genetic counseling. In many cases, genetic diagnosis of hearing loss can help to avoid unnecessary and costly clinical testing, offer prognostic information, and guide future medical management. On the other hand, a variety of gene therapeutic approaches have been developed aiming to relieve or converse the hearing loss due to genetic causes. Prevention of genetic hearing loss is feasible through prepregnancy and prenatal genetic diagnosis and counseling.

Osmotic therapies added to antibiotics for acute bacterial meningitis.

BACKGROUND: Every day children and adults die from acute community-acquired bacterial meningitis, particularly in low-income countries, and survivors risk deafness, epilepsy and neurological disabilities. Osmotic therapies may attract extra-vascular fluid and reduce cerebral oedema, and thus reduce death and improve neurological outcomes.This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2013. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of osmotic therapies added to antibiotics for acute bacterial meningitis in children and adults on mortality, deafness and neurological disability. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL (2017, Issue 1), MEDLINE (1950 to 17 February 2017), Embase (1974 to 17 February 2017), CINAHL (1981 to 17 February 2017), LILACS (1982 to 17 February 2017) and registers of ongoing clinical trials (ClinicalTrials.com, WHO ICTRP) (21 February 2017). We also searched conference abstracts and contacted researchers in the field (up to 12 December 2015). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials testing any osmotic therapy in adults or children with acute bacterial meningitis. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently screened the search results and selected trials for inclusion. Results are presented using risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) and grouped according to whether the participants received steroids or not. We used the GRADE approach to assess the certainty of the evidence. MAIN RESULTS: We included five trials with 1451 participants. Four trials evaluated glycerol against placebo, and one evaluated glycerol against 50% dextrose; in addition three trials evaluated dexamethasone and one trial evaluated acetaminophen (paracetamol) in a factorial design. Stratified analysis shows no effect modification with steroids; we present aggregate effect estimates.Compared to placebo, glycerol probably has little or no effect on death in people with bacterial meningitis (RR 1.08, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.30; 5 studies, 1272 participants; moderate-certainty evidence), but may reduce neurological disability (RR 0.73, 95% CI 0.53 to 1.00; 5 studies, 1270 participants; low-certainty evidence).Glycerol may have little or no effect on seizures during treatment for meningitis (RR 1.08, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.30; 4 studies, 1090 participants; low-certainty evidence).Glycerol may reduce the risk of subsequent deafness (RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.93; 5 studies, 922 participants; low to moderate-certainty evidence).Glycerol probably has little or no effect on gastrointestinal bleeding (RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.39 to 2.19; 3 studies, 607 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). The evidence on nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea is uncertain (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.47; 2 studies, 851 participants; very low-certainty evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Glycerol was the only osmotic therapy evaluated, and data from trials to date have not demonstrated an effect on death. Glycerol may reduce neurological deficiency and deafness.

[Value of pre-gestational deafness-related mutation screening for the prevention and intervention of congenital deafness].

OBJECTIVE: To assess the value of pre-gestational deafness-related mutation screening for the prevention and intervention of congenital deafness. METHODS: In this study, 2168 couples with normal hearing were screened for common mutations associated with congenital deafness using real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. The mutations have included GJB2 c.235delC and c.299_300delAT, SLC26A4 c.2168A>G and c.IVS7-2A>G, and mtDNA 12SrRNA c.1494C>T and c.1555A>G. For couples who have both carried heterozygous mutations of the same gene, genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis were provided. RESULTS: Among of the 4 336 individuals, 178 (4.06%) were found to carry a mutation. Mutation rate for c.235delC and c.299_300delAT of GJB2 gene, c.IVS7-2 A>G and c.2168 A>G of SLC26A4 gene, c.1555 A>G and c.1494 C>T of DNA 12S rRNA gene were 0.91%, 0.20%, 0.68%, 0.11%, 0.1% and 0.01%, respectively. For six couples who have both carried mutations of the same gene, all fetuses showed a normal karyotype, while DNA sequencing indicated that two fetuses have carried homozygous c.235delC mutation of the GJB2 gene, one carried a heterozygous c.235delC mutation of the GJB2 gene, one carried heterozygous mutation of GJB2 gene (c.299_300delAT), and two have carried a heterozygous mutation of c.IVS7-2A>G of the SLC26A4 gene. CONCLUSION: Pre-gestational screening for deafness gene mutation can facilitate avoidance the birth of affected children and has a great clinical value for the prevention and intervention of birth defect.

Perception of Genetic Testing for Deafness and Factors Associated with Interest in Genetic Testing Among Deaf People in a Selected Population in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Understanding the perceptions of genetic testing by members of the deaf community may help in planning deafness genetics research, especially so in the context of strong adherence to cultural values as found among native Africans. Among Yorubas in Nigeria, deafness is perceived to be caused by some offensive actions of the mother during pregnancy, spiritual attack, and childhood infections. We studied attitudes towards, and acceptance of genetic testing by the deaf community in Nigeria. Structured questionnaires were administered to individuals sampled from the Vocational Training Centre for the Deaf, the religious Community, and government schools, among others. The main survey items elicited information about the community in which the deaf people participate, their awareness of genetic testing, whether or not they view genetic testing as acceptable, and their understanding of the purpose of genetic testing. There were 150 deaf participants (61.3 % males, 38.7 % females) with mean age of 26.7 years ±9.8. A majority of survey respondents indicated they relate only with other members of the deaf community (78 %) and reported believing genetic testing does more good than harm (79.3 %); 57 % expressed interest in genetic testing. Interest in genetic testing for deafness or in genetic testing in pregnancy was not related to whether respondents relate primarily to the deaf or to the hearing community. However, a significantly higher number of male respondents and respondents with low education reported interest in genetic testing.

[Screening of common deaf genes in pregnant women and prevention of deafness at birth].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the carrier rate for common mutations causing deafness among pregnant women in order to prevent births of deaf children. METHODS: For 893 pregnant women, 2 mL peripheral venous blood was taken and DNA was extracted. A deafness DNA microarray screening was applied to such samples, and DNA sequencing was applied to husbands of women with positive screening results. RESULTS: A total of 40 carriers were detected, with the overall mutation rate being 4.48%. Among such carriers, GJB2 235delC was the most common heterozygous mutation (18 cases) and the mutation rate was 2.02%. GJB2 299A-T heterozygous mutation was detected in 7 cases with a mutation rate of 0.78%. IVS7-2A to G heterozygous mutation was detected in 9 cases with a mutation rate of 1.02%. There were 2 cases carrying GJB3 heterozygous mutation and 2 cases of mitochondrial 12S rRNA heterozygous mutation, with a mutation rate of 0.22%. IVS7-2A>G with GJB3 538C>T double heterozygous mutation was detected in 1 case, and IVS7-2A>G with GJB2 299A-T double heterozygous mutation was detected in another case, with the mutation rate of each being 0.11%. DNA sequencing has failed to find presence of mutations in the same gene in the husbands. The results of neonatal hearing follow-up were all normal. CONCLUSION: Applications of the deaf genes screening in pregnant women may play prove to be valuable for the early detection for neonatal deafness.

Emprical factors associated with Brainstem auditory evoked potential monitoring during microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm and its correlation to hearing loss.

BACKGROUND: Cranial nerve VIII is at risk during microvascular decompression (MVD) for hemifacial spasm (HFS). The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the empirical factors associated with brainstem auditory evoked potential monitoring and its correlation to post operative hearing loss (HL) after MVD for HFS. METHODS: Pre-operative and post-operative audiogram data and BAEP from ninety-four patients who underwent MVD for HFS were analyzed. Pure tone audiometry (PTA) and Speech Discrimination Score (SDS) were performed on all patients before and after surgery. Intraoperative neurophysiological data were reviewed independently. HL was assessed using the AAO-HNS classification system for non-serviceable hearing loss (Class C/D), defined as PTA >50 dB and/or SDS <50% within the speech range of frequencies. RESULTS: Patients with HL had higher rates of loss in the amplitude of wave V and prolongation in the interpeak latency of peak I-V latency during MVD. Gender, age, side, and MVD duration did not increase the risk of HL. There was no correlation between successive number of BAEP changes (reflective of the number of surgical attempts) and HL. There was no association between the speed of recovery of BAEPs and HL. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with new post-operative HL have a faster rate of change in the amplitude of wave V and the interpeak I-V latency during intraoperative BAEP monitoring for HFS. Our alarm criteria to inform the surgeon about impending nerve injury might have to be modified and prospectively tested to prevent rapid change in BAEPs.

Osmotic therapies added to antibiotics for acute bacterial meningitis.

BACKGROUND: Every day children and adults throughout the world die from acute community-acquired bacterial meningitis, particularly in low-income countries. Survivors are at risk of deafness, epilepsy and neurological disabilities. Osmotic therapies have been proposed as an adjunct to improve mortality and morbidity from bacterial meningitis. The theory is that they will attract extra-vascular fluid by osmosis and thus reduce cerebral oedema by moving excess water from the brain into the blood. The intention is to thus reduce death and improve neurological outcomes. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects on mortality, deafness and neurological disability of osmotic therapies added to antibiotics for acute bacterial meningitis in children and adults. SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL 2012, Issue 11, MEDLINE (1950 to November week 3, 2012), EMBASE (1974 to November 2012), CINAHL (1981 to November 2012), LILACS (1982 to November 2012) and registers of ongoing clinical trials (April 2012). We also searched conference abstracts and contacted researchers in the field. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials testing any osmotic therapy in adults or children with acute bacterial meningitis. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently screened the search results and selected trials for inclusion. We collected data from each study for mortality, deafness, seizures and neurological disabilities. Results are presented using risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) and grouped according to whether the participants received steroids or not. MAIN RESULTS: Four trials were included comprising 1091 participants. All compared glycerol (a water-soluble sugar alcohol) with a control; in three trials this was a placebo, and in one a small amount of 50% dextrose. Three trials included comparators of dexamethasone alone or in combination with glycerol. As dexamethasone appeared to have no modifying effect, we aggregated results across arms where both treatment and control groups received corticosteroids and where both treatment and control groups did not.Compared to placebo, glycerol may have little or no effect on death in people with bacterial meningitis (RR 1.09, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89 to 1.33, 1091 participants, four trials, low-quality evidence); or on death and neurological disability combined (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.25).Glycerol may have little or no effect on seizures during treatment for meningitis (RR 1.08, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.30, 909 participants, three trials, low-quality evidence).Glycerol may reduce the risk of subsequent deafness (RR 0.60, 95% CI 0.38 to 0.93, 741 participants, four trials, low-quality evidence). AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The only osmotic diuretic to have undergone randomised evaluation is glycerol. Data from trials to date have not demonstrated benefit on death, but it may reduce deafness. Osmotic diuretics, including glycerol, should not be given to adults and children with bacterial meningitis unless as part of carefully conducted randomised controlled trial.

Magnesium sulphate at 30 to 34 weeks' gestational age: neuroprotection trial (MAGENTA)--study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Magnesium sulphate is currently recommended for neuroprotection of preterm infants for women at risk of preterm birth at less than 30 weeks' gestation, based on high quality evidence of benefit. However there remains uncertainty as to whether these benefits apply at higher gestational ages.The aim of this randomised controlled trial is to assess whether giving magnesium sulphate compared with placebo to women immediately prior to preterm birth between 30 and 34 weeks' gestation reduces the risk of death or cerebral palsy in their children at two years' corrected age. DESIGN: Randomised, multicentre, placebo controlled trial. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Women, giving informed consent, at risk of preterm birth between 30 to 34 weeks' gestation, where birth is planned or definitely expected within 24 hours, with a singleton or twin pregnancy and no contraindications to the use of magnesium sulphate.Trial entry & randomisation: Eligible women will be randomly allocated to receive either magnesium sulphate or placebo.Treatment groups: Women in the magnesium sulphate group will be administered 50 ml of a 100 ml infusion bag containing 8 g magnesium sulphate heptahydrate [16 mmol magnesium ions]. Women in the placebo group will be administered 50 ml of a 100 ml infusion bag containing isotonic sodium chloride solution (0.9%). Both treatments will be administered through a dedicated IV infusion line over 30 minutes.Primary study outcome: Death or cerebral palsy measured in children at two years' corrected age. SAMPLE SIZE: 1676 children are required to detect a decrease in the combined outcome of death or cerebral palsy, from 9.6% with placebo to 5.4% with magnesium sulphate (two-sided alpha 0.05, 80% power, 5% loss to follow up, design effect 1.2). DISCUSSION: Given the magnitude of the protective effect in the systematic review, the ongoing uncertainty about benefits at later gestational ages, the serious health and cost consequences of cerebral palsy for the child, family and society, a trial of magnesium sulphate for women at risk of preterm birth between 30 to 34 weeks' gestation is both important and relevant for clinical practice globally. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry - ACTRN12611000491965.

Effect of hypoglycemic anti-deafness capsules in diabetic patients with deafness and toxicological assessment in rats.

OBJECTIVE: Through experiment on animals and clinical trials to explore the safety and efficacy of hypoglycemic anti-deafness capsules on diabetic patients with deafness. METHODS: Total 296 patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) were randomly divided into two groups. A treatment group of 164 patients (208 ears) was treated with hypoglycemic anti-deafness capsules based on TCM syndrome differentiation. A control group of 132 patients (184 ears) was treated with glibenclamide and conventional drug treatment for deafness. The following were observed: hearing, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2 h postprandial plasma glucose (2hPG), 24 h urine glucose (24hUG), improvement of main symptoms, platelet function, and changes in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and lipid peroxide (LPO) levels. In animal studies, Kunming mice, weighing 18-22 g were used. Half of the mice were males and half were females. Wistar rats, weighing 80-120 g were used. Half of the rats were males and half were females. Male Wistar rats, weighing 200-220 g, were also used. Their acute and chronic toxicity was studied. RESULTS: The hearing improvement was 56.7% in the treatment group and 26.6% in the control group. FPG, 2hPG, and 24hUG were improved significantly (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.01, respectively) in the treatment group and 2hPG and 24hUG improved significantly in the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.05). The improvement in 2hPG and 24hUG in the treatment group was significantly greater than that in the control group P < 0.01).There was no significant difference in FPG between the two groups (P < 0.05). Main symptoms in the treatment group were significantly more improved than those in the control group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). In the treatment group, platelet adhesion and aggregation, SOD, and LPO were all significantly improved from before treatment (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). However, in the control group, except LOP (P < 0.05), there were no significant differences from before treatment to after (P < 0.05). In animal studies, no obvious acute or long-term toxicity was observed from capsule administration. CONCLUSION: Through experiment on animals and clinical trials, we can found that hypoglycemic anti-deafness capsules could decrease blood glucose and serum triglycerides of alloxan-induced diabetic rats. This herbal capsule is effective for safely treating diabetic patients with deafness.

Survival without disability to age 5 years after neonatal caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity.

CONTEXT: Very preterm infants are prone to apnea and have an increased risk of death or disability. Caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity reduces the rates of cerebral palsy and cognitive delay at 18 months of age. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether neonatal caffeine therapy has lasting benefits or newly apparent risks at early school age. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Five-year follow-up from 2005 to 2011 in 31 of 35 academic hospitals in Canada, Australia, Europe, and Israel, where 1932 of 2006 participants (96.3%) had been enrolled in the randomized, placebo-controlled Caffeine for Apnea of Prematurity trial between 1999 and 2004. A total of 1640 children (84.9%) with birth weights of 500 to 1250 g had adequate data for the main outcome at 5 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Combined outcome of death or survival to 5 years with 1 or more of motor impairment (defined as a Gross Motor Function Classification System level of 3 to 5), cognitive impairment (defined as a Full Scale IQ<70), behavior problems, poor general health, deafness, and blindness. RESULTS: The combined outcome of death or disability was not significantly different for the 833 children assigned to caffeine from that for the 807 children assigned to placebo (21.1% vs 24.8%; odds ratio adjusted for center, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.65-1.03; P = .09). The rates of death, motor impairment, behavior problems, poor general health, deafness, and blindness did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. The incidence of cognitive impairment was lower at 5 years than at 18 months and similar in the 2 groups (4.9% vs 5.1%; odds ratio adjusted for center, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.61-1.55; P = .89). CONCLUSION: Neonatal caffeine therapy was no longer associated with a significantly improved rate of survival without disability in children with very low birth weights who were assessed at 5 years.

Visual form of ASL verb signs predicts non-signer judgment of transitivity.

Longstanding cross-linguistic work on event representations in spoken languages have argued for a robust mapping between an event's underlying representation and its syntactic encoding, such that-for example-the agent of an event is most frequently mapped to subject position. In the same vein, sign languages have long been claimed to construct signs that visually represent their meaning, i.e., signs that are iconic. Experimental research on linguistic parameters such as plurality and aspect has recently shown some of them to be visually universal in sign, i.e. recognized by non-signers as well as signers, and have identified specific visual cues that achieve this mapping. However, little is known about what makes action representations in sign language iconic, or whether and how the mapping of underlying event representations to syntactic encoding is visually apparent in the form of a verb sign. To this end, we asked what visual cues non-signers may use in evaluating transitivity (i.e., the number of entities involved in an action). To do this, we correlated non-signer judgments about transitivity of verb signs from American Sign Language (ASL) with phonological characteristics of these signs. We found that non-signers did not accurately guess the transitivity of the signs, but that non-signer transitivity judgments can nevertheless be predicted from the signs' visual characteristics. Further, non-signers cue in on just those features that code event representations across sign languages, despite interpreting them differently. This suggests the existence of visual biases that underlie detection of linguistic categories, such as transitivity, which may uncouple from underlying conceptual representations over time in mature sign languages due to lexicalization processes.

SLC4A11 prevents osmotic imbalance leading to corneal endothelial dystrophy, deafness, and polyuria.

Maintenance of ion concentration gradients is essential for the function of many organs, including the kidney, the cornea, and the inner ear. Ion concentrations and fluid content in the cornea are regulated by endothelial cells that separate the collagenous avascular corneal stroma from the anterior eye chamber. Failure to maintain correct ion concentrations leads to swelling and destruction of the cornea. In the inner ear, the stria vascularis is responsible for generating proper ion concentrations in the endolymph, which is essential for hearing. Mutations of SLC4A11 in humans lead to syndromes associated with corneal dystrophy and perceptive deafness. The molecular mechanisms underlying these symptoms are poorly understood, impeding therapeutic interventions. The ion transporter SLC4A11 mediates sodium-dependent transport of borate as well as flux of sodium and hydroxyl ions in vitro. Here, we show that SLC4A11 is expressed in the endothelial cells of the cornea where it prevents severe morphological changes of the cornea caused by increased sodium chloride concentrations in the stroma. In the inner ear, SLC4A11 is located in fibrocytes underlying the stria vascularis. Loss of SLC4A11 leads to morphological changes in the fibrocytes and deafness. We demonstrate that SLC4A11 is essential for the generation of the endocochlear potential but not for regulation of potassium concentrations in the endolymph. In the kidney, SLC4A11 is expressed in the thin descending limb of Henle loop. SLC4A11 is essential for urinary concentration, suggesting that SLC4A11 participates in the countercurrent multiplication that concentrates urine in the kidney medulla.

Comparison of disability rates among older adults in aggregated and separate Asian American/Pacific Islander subpopulations.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the prevalence and adjusted odds of 4 types of disability among 7 groups of older Asian American/Pacific Islander (AAPI) subpopulations, both separately and aggregated, compared with non-Hispanic Whites. METHODS: Data were from the nationally representative 2006 American Community Survey, which included institutionalized and community-dwelling Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (n = 524), Vietnamese (n = 2357), Korean (n = 2082), Japanese (n = 3230), Filipino (n = 5109), Asian Indian (n = 2942), Chinese (n = 6034), and non-Hispanic White (n = 641 177) individuals aged 55 years and older. The weighted prevalence, population estimates, and odds ratios of 4 types of disability (functional limitations, limitations in activities of daily living, cognitive problems, and blindness or deafness) were reported for each group. RESULTS: Disability rates in older adults varied more among AAPI subpopulations than between non-Hispanic Whites and the aggregated Asian group. Asian older adults had, on average, better disability outcomes than did non-Hispanic Whites. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the strongest evidence to date that exclusion of institutionalized older adults minimizes disparities in disabilities between Asians and Whites. The aggregation of Asians into one group obscures substantial subgroup variability and fails to identify the most vulnerable groups (e.g., Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders and Vietnamese).

Study of protective effect on rat cochlear spiral ganglion after blast exposure by adenovirus-mediated human ß-nerve growth factor gene.

OBJECTIVE: To study whether adenovirus-mediated human ß-nerve growth factor (Ad-hNGFß) gene has any protective effect on rat cochlear spiral ganglion after blast exposure. METHODS: Deafness was induced by blast exposure (172.0 dB) in 20 healthy rats. Seven days after blast exposure, Ad-hNGFß was infused into the perilymphatic space of 10 animals as the hNGFß/blast group, and artificial perilymph fluid (APF) was infused into the perilymphatic space of 10 animals as the APF/blast control group. An additional control group consisted of 10 healthy rats which received Ad-hNGFß target gene with no blast exposure (hNGFß/control group). Auditory functions were monitored by thresholds of auditory brain stem responses (ABR). At weeks 1, 4, and 8 postoperatively, the animals were killed, and the cochleae were removed for immunohistochemical, hematoxylin and eosin staining study. RESULTS: The ABR threshold shifts in the hNGFß/blast group were significantly smaller than that of APF/blast control group. There were no significant differences of the ABR values between before and after operation in the hNGFß/control group. Expression of Ad-hNGFß protein was detected in each turn of the cochlea in the first week, with almost equal intensity in all turns. In the fourth week, the reactive intensity decreased. In the eighth week, no reaction was detectable. The results of hematoxylin and eosin stain showed that the number of spiral ganglions in the hNGFß/blast group was significantly greater than that of the APF/blast control group in the 4th week (P < .01). CONCLUSION: Adenovirus-mediated human ß-nerve growth factor can be expressed at a high level and for a relatively long period in the blast impaired cochlea, suggesting that Ad-hNGFß has a protective effect on rat cochlear spiral ganglion cells after blast exposure.

[Acoustic hallucinations and pseudo-hallucinations in acquired deafness: antipsychotic treatment]. / Akustische Halluzinationen und Pseudohalluzinationen bei erworbener Schwerhörigkeit: Antipsychotische Behandlung.

We present the case of a 70-year-old patient who was admitted for treatment due to a mild depressive episode and acoustic pseudo-hallucinations. The patient had a history of bilateral work-related deafness. After exclusion of a vestibular schwannoma he was treated with Olanzapine, whereupon symptoms improved markedly and rapidly.

Microsecond interaural time difference discrimination restored by cochlear implants after neonatal deafness.

Spatial hearing in cochlear implant (CI) patients remains a major challenge, with many early deaf users reported to have no measurable sensitivity to interaural time differences (ITDs). Deprivation of binaural experience during an early critical period is often hypothesized to be the cause of this shortcoming. However, we show that neonatally deafened (ND) rats provided with precisely synchronized CI stimulation in adulthood can be trained to lateralize ITDs with essentially normal behavioral thresholds near 50 µs. Furthermore, comparable ND rats show high physiological sensitivity to ITDs immediately after binaural implantation in adulthood. Our result that ND-CI rats achieved very good behavioral ITD thresholds, while prelingually deaf human CI patients often fail to develop a useful sensitivity to ITD raises urgent questions concerning the possibility that shortcomings in technology or treatment, rather than missing input during early development, may be behind the usually poor binaural outcomes for current CI patients.

Reading without phonology: ERP evidence from skilled deaf readers of Spanish.

Reading typically involves phonological mediation, especially for transparent orthographies with a regular letter to sound correspondence. In this study we ask whether phonological coding is a necessary part of the reading process by examining prelingually deaf individuals who are skilled readers of Spanish. We conducted two EEG experiments exploiting the pseudohomophone effect, in which nonwords that sound like words elicit phonological encoding during reading. The first, a semantic categorization task with masked priming, resulted in modulation of the N250 by pseudohomophone primes in hearing but not in deaf readers. The second, a lexical decision task, confirmed the pattern: hearing readers had increased errors and an attenuated N400 response for pseudohomophones compared to control pseudowords, whereas deaf readers did not treat pseudohomophones any differently from pseudowords, either behaviourally or in the ERP response. These results offer converging evidence that skilled deaf readers do not rely on phonological coding during visual word recognition. Furthermore, the finding demonstrates that reading can take place in the absence of phonological activation, and we speculate about the alternative mechanisms that allow these deaf individuals to read competently.