Gustatory function in persons with cerebral palsy.

Gustatory function is closely related to chewing and swallowing; however, there are currently no reports regarding gustatory function in persons with cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this study was to compare the gustatory function between persons with CP and healthy controls. We investigated sweet, salty, sour and bitter tastes using the whole-mouth method and measured the electrogustometric thresholds in the chorda tympani nerve area. Twelve participants with CP (6 women and 6 men) for whom gustatory testing was possible at our facilities, and 17 age-matched controls (9 women and 8 men) were included. The mean age ± standard deviation was 58.6 ± 8.1 years and 58.5 ± 8.7 years in subjects with CP and controls, respectively. Taste detection and identification were significantly worse in persons with CP compared with the controls. Taste identification was more impaired than taste detection. At the highest concentration, taste identification was impossible 11 times out of 48 (12 persons × 4 kinds of tastes) in persons with CP but such a deficit was not observed in 68 attempts (17 persons × 4 kinds of tastes) involving controls. The electrogustometric thresholds were not significantly different between the groups. Gustatory function associated with chewing and swallowing is worse in persons with CP compared to the controls.

Detection of herpesvirus DNAs in perilymph obtained from patients with sensorineural hearing loss by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Perilymph and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with bilateral severe sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) were evaluated for the presence of DNA from cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus (HSV), and human herpesvirus (HHV)6. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective clinical study. METHODS: The subjects were 14 patients who underwent cochlear implantation and 1 patient who underwent gentamicin injection in the inner ear. We attempted to detect viral DNA from perilymph and PBMCs by real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR). RESULTS: CMV DNA was detected in two perilymph specimens obtained from patients who were diagnosed as congenitally symptomatic CMV infection, although no CMV DNA was detected in PBMCs. Neither HSV DNA nor HHV6 DNA was detected in any other perilymph specimens. CMV DNA was detected in three PBMC samples, HSV DNA was detected in two samples, and HHV6 DNA was detected in six samples. CONCLUSION: CMV may persistently infect the inner ear of patients with congenital CMV infection, and rtPCR analysis may prove to be a valuable tool for investigating the etiology of SNHL.