Effectiveness of oral zinc supplementation in the treatment of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL).

OBJECTIVE: Investigate the benefit of zinc supplement combined with standard treatment ofidiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) patients. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A prospective, randomized study was designed to evaluate the hearing outcomes in ISSNHL patients treated with zinc supplement. The patients were randomized into two groups, the study and the control group. The study group received oral chelated zinc with standard treatment (oral prednisolone), while the control group received standard treatment alone. Hearing improvement was assessed from pure-tone average (PTA) and speech discrimination scores (SDS). RESULTS: After treatment, significant hearing improvement was noted in both groups regarding PTA value (p = 0.016, 0.025). SDS was also improved in both groups but with no statistical significance (p > 0.05). Post-treatment PTA and SDS values between the zinc and control groups were not statistically different (p > 0.05). Hearing improvement was documented in eight of 16 patients in the study group and seven of 14 patients in the control group. This was no significant difference (p = 1.000). CONCLUSION: Zinc supplementation does not have benefit when combined with standard treatment. Nevertheless, more subjects and well-designed studies are needed to verify the effect of zinc.

Minimally invasive palatal surgery for obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common condition in Thai population characterized by recurrent episodes of apnea during sleep. Patients may have detrimental consequences and the management of OSA is complex and challenging. Many patients respond to medical treatments including weight loss, body position training, oral appliances and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Although medical intervention fails, surgical procedure is the alternative options to improve the upper airway patency Many palatal surgical procedures have been introduced to alleviate upper airway obstruction. However most procedures are invasive, destructive, painful, also associated with significant morbidity. Recently, minimally invasive surgery also achieves the same results as the invasive procedures with less postoperative risks. The treatment outcomes have now been validated by many centers in appropriately selected patients. The types, results and complications of the procedures are reviewed.

Patterns of anomalies of structures of the middle ear and the facial nerve as revealed in newborn temporal bones.

HYPOTHESIS: The purpose of this study is to offer new data about facial nerve malformations in the tympanic cavity. BACKGROUND: Prospective anatomic study of newborns to demonstrate the submacroscopic anatomy of the intratympanic facial nerve and its surrounding structures by malformations. METHODS: Step-by-step microdissection of 12 newborn temporal bones and histologic evaluation of 4 middle ears showing multiple malformations. RESULTS: Four of 12 temporal bones presented malformation in the middle ear. All 4 temporal bones showed developmental failures of the stapes, and 3 of them had malposition of the tympanic portion of the facial nerve. In 3 cases, there was an oval window atresia, and in 1 case, the rim of the oval window was not ossified and was positioned medial to the stapes. CONCLUSION: Malformation or displacement of the stapes can be an indirect sign for facial nerve malformation. The most common site for facial nerve malformation is the tympanic portion. The tympanic segment of the nerve is devoid of bony covering in association with these anomalies of the stapes.

Nanoparticle size is a critical physicochemical determinant of the human blood plasma corona: a comprehensive quantitative proteomic analysis.

In biological fluids, proteins associate with nanoparticles, leading to a protein "corona" defining the biological identity of the particle. However, a comprehensive knowledge of particle-guided protein fingerprints and their dependence on nanomaterial properties is incomplete. We studied the long-lived ("hard") blood plasma derived corona on monodispersed amorphous silica nanoparticles differing in size (20, 30, and 100 nm). Employing label-free liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, one- and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and immunoblotting the composition of the protein corona was analyzed not only qualitatively but also quantitatively. Detected proteins were bioinformatically classified according to their physicochemical and biological properties. Binding of the 125 identified proteins did not simply reflect their relative abundance in the plasma but revealed an enrichment of specific lipoproteins as well as proteins involved in coagulation and the complement pathway. In contrast, immunoglobulins and acute phase response proteins displayed a lower affinity for the particles. Protein decoration of the negatively charged particles did not correlate with protein size or charge, demonstrating that electrostatic effects alone are not the major driving force regulating the nanoparticle-protein interaction. Remarkably, even differences in particle size of only 10 nm significantly determined the nanoparticle corona, although no clear correlation with particle surface volume, protein size, or charge was evident. Particle size quantitatively influenced the particle's decoration with 37% of all identified proteins, including (patho)biologically relevant candidates. We demonstrate the complexity of the plasma corona and its still unresolved physicochemical regulation, which need to be considered in nanobioscience in the future.