The effect of resveratrol on the prevention of cisplatin ototoxicity.

One of the most important adverse effects of cisplatin, a chemotherapeutic agent which is widely used in the treatment of cancer patients, is hearing loss. This has primarily been associated with the loss of inner ear hairy and spiral ganglion cells due to oxidative stress. Resveratrol is known to be an antioxidant agent, which has the theoretical potential of preventing cisplatin-related ototoxicity. This experimental study was approved by Animal Ethics Committee of Inonu University (2008-20) and supported by Inonu University Scientific Research Projects Support Fund (2009-17). Thirty-four 3-month-old Wistar albino female rats weighing 210-270 g were used in the study. The animals were allocated into four groups: in cisplatin group (Group A), a single dose of 12 mg/kg cisplatin was administered intraperitoneally to 10 rats; in cisplatin + resveratrol group (Group B), a single dose of 12 mg/kg cisplatin and 10 mg/kg resveratrol were administered intraperitoneally for 5 days to 10 rats; in resveratrol group (Group C), 10 mg/kg resveratrol was administered intraperitoneally for 5 days to seven rats and in control group (Group D), resveratrol solvent (5% alcohol-95% physiological saline) was administered intraperitoneally for 5 days to seven rats. Resveratrol administration has begun 1 day before cisplatin administration in the group treated with cisplatin and resveratrol combination. Distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE) (Grason Stadler, Madison, USA) measurements were performed in the same ear of all rats (right ear) under general anesthesia at baseline, 1st and 5th days after drug administration. Statistically significant distortion product amplitude reductions were found in the cisplatin group at 1,418, 2,003, 3,363, 5,660, 8,003 and 9,515 Hz frequencies. Whereas in the cisplatin + resveratrol group, statistically significant difference was found between 1st and 5th day measurements only at 3,996 Hz frequency. No significant differences were noted between the measurements either in the resveratrol or in the control groups. According to these results, cisplatin-related ototoxicity has been greatly prevented by resveratrol use.

Relationship between chronic otitis media with effusion and overweight or obesity in children.

OBJECTIVES: Otitis media with effusion and obesity are both common in childhood and might share some immunological alterations. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between chronic otitis media with effusion and childhood overweight or obesity, including the potential effects of adenoid or tonsillar hypertrophy on that relationship. METHODS: This study included 60 children with chronic otitis media with effusion and 86 healthy children aged from 2 to 10 years. Measures of height and weight were used to calculate the body mass index, weight for height and weight z score. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight or obesity was higher in children with chronic otitis media with effusion, according to the weight for height percentiles (p = 0.012). However, neither the presence of adenoid or tonsillar hypertrophy nor the degree of adenoid hypertrophy was associated with overweight or obesity. CONCLUSION: Overweight and obesity might be risk factors for developing chronic otitis media with effusion, or vice versa.

Does adenotonsillectomy improve growth in children with obstructive adenotonsillar hypertrophy?

Faltering growth may be associated with adenotonsillar hypertrophy, but its pathophysiological mechanism is unclear. This study included 29 pre-pubertal children with obstructive adenotonsillar hypertrophy, and aimed to investigate the probable difference in energy intake and serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3) levels before and 6 months after adenotonsillectomy. Weight and height standard deviation scores, energy intake per kilogram and serum IGF-1 levels were found to be significantly higher 6 months after adenotonsillectomy, indicating that adenotonsillar hypertrophy is associated with poor growth.

Comparative cochlear toxicities of streptomycin, gentamicin, amikacin and netilmicin in guinea-pigs.

All the aminoglycoside antibiotics now in clinical use are ototoxic. This study was designed to compare the toxic effects of four aminoglycoside antibiotics, streptomycin, gentamicin, amikacin and netilmicin, administered to guinea-pigs systemically (at respective doses of 125 mg/kg, 50 mg/kg, 150 mg/kg or 37.5 mg/kg, twice daily for 1 week) or topically via the transtympanic route (0.25 ml/kg in 4% saline, twice daily for 1 week). Chosen doses were 10-20 times higher than the recommended human dosage. Cochlear damage was observed in all animals that were given systemic and local aminoglycosides. The severity of the cochlear damage was in the order gentamicin, amikacin, streptomycin, netilmicin, with gentamicin being the most toxic. No statistically significant difference between the severity of cochlear damage resulting from the systemic and topical applications was detected.

Haemangiopericytoma of the middle ear: case report and literature review.

Haemangiopericytoma is an uncommon vascular tumour that rarely appears in the head and neck region. Such a tumour arising from the middle ear has not been reported since it was first described in 1942 by Stout and Murray. The present case therefore illustrates the first example of a primary middle ear haemangiopericytoma.

Primary tonsillar tuberculosis: a case report.

A 67-year-old man with an enlarged left tonsil underwent a tonsillectomy for the suspicion of malignancy. He had had a dental extraction six months earlier. Clinical and histopathological investigations established the diagnosis of primary tonsillar tuberculosis.

Nasal mucociliary clearance and nasal and oral pH in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes.

We studied 32 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus to determine how their rate of mucociliary clearance and their levels of nasal and oral pH compared with those of 10 nondiabetic controls and how these rhinologic measurements varied within different subsets of diabetic patients. Although we found very few statistically significant differences in all our comparisons, we did find that nasal mucociliary clearance and oral pH levels in the diabetic patients were significantly different from those of healthy subjects.