Acta oto-laryngologica. Supplementum
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Acta Otolaryngol Suppl · Jan 1992
T cell subsets in round window membrane after middle ear immunostimulation.
In secondary middle ear immune response, kinetics of immunocytes, especially T cell subsets, was examined in the round window membrane (RWM) using immunohistochemical methods. Healthy BALB/c mice and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) antigen were employed in this study. The inflammatory responses of the RWM and middle ear were investigated after antigen challenge into the middle ear bulla. ⋯ Luminal effusion with an enormous infiltration of inflammatory cells, which consisted mainly of Mac-1 cells, IgG cells and IgM cells, was observed in the middle ear cavity on days 1-7 post antigen challenge. In the inflamed RWM, Mac-1 cells were the predominant cell type followed by helper T cells, interleukin 2 receptor positive cells and IgG positive cells, though IgM, IgA and Lyt-2 positive cells were rarely observed after antigen challenge. Our results suggest that RWM has the ability to protect inner ear by cellular immune response through activated helper T cells and Mac-1 cells.
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We studied postural control, using quantitative moving-platform posturography, in 20 patients with Huntington's Disease (HD) and in 20 age-matched controls. HD patients showed considerably more anterior-posterior sway than normals, even when a correction for chorea was attempted. ⋯ HD patients showed increased amplitude of responses to rotational perturbations of the platform but a normal decrease in response on successive trials. Thus, patients with HD show a consistent pattern of abnormality on posturography suggesting a role for the basal ganglia in a number of aspects of postural control.
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Acta Otolaryngol Suppl · Jan 1991
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study Clinical TrialBetahistine dihydrochloride versus flunarizine. A double-blind study on recurrent vertigo with or without cochlear syndrome typical of Menière's disease.
This study was designed to compare the efficacy and safety of betahistine dihydrochloride and flunarizine. All patients included in this multicenter, double-blind, randomized trial showed a specific pattern of vertigo, i.e. recurrent paroxysmal vertigo with or without the cochlear symptoms typical of Meniere's disease. Fifty-five patients were treated for 2 months (28 in the betahistine group and 27 in the flunarizine group). ⋯ Statistically significant decreases in duration and severity of attacks, and in the presence of vegetative symptoms were seen in the betahistine group after the first and second months of treatment, whereas in the flunarizine group this was the case only at the end of the first month of treatment. Furthermore in the betahistine group, statistically significant decreases occurred for the other major criteria, including number of attacks, evidence of vestibular dysfunction, and presence of cochlear symptoms. Adverse effects were similar to those reported in previous studies of both products: stomach pains only with betahistine, and drowsiness, asthenia, and depression with flunarizine.
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Acta Otolaryngol Suppl · Jan 1991
Case Reports Comparative Study Biography Historical ArticleVincent's violent vertigo. An analysis of the original diagnosis of epilepsy vs. the current diagnosis of Meniére's disease.
The authors propose to correct the historical misimpression that Vincent van Gogh's medical problems resulted from epilepsy. Rather, the authors propose his main medical problem was Meniére's disease. The authors have reviewed the 796 personal letters written by van Gogh. ⋯ This diagnosis is still prevalent in the art history literature today. His symptoms included episodic vertigo and dizziness, physical imbalance, hearing symptoms, ear noises (tinnitus) as well as a presumed secondary psychological reaction to his physical symptomatology. van Gogh's diagnosis of epilepsy is based on written diagnosis in his medical records in 1889 when he was interred (voluntarily) in St. Remy at an asylum for epileptics and lunatics.
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We studied Eustachian tube function of healthy adults by two air flow methods, namely tubo-tympano-aerodynamic graphy by Valsalva maneuvre, and Tyonbee maneuvre during swallowing. We observed for the first time the presence of reciprocal features in normal Eustachian tubes. ⋯ It can be inferred that data on the tubal opening in response to Valsalva and Toynbee maneuvres is obtained more easily by sonometry than by TTAG. TTAG, which permits examination of minute changes in air flow dynamics even in healthy Eustachian tubes, provides more important information on tubal function than does sonotubometry.