Ménière's disease

Ménière's disease is an idiopathic inner ear disorder characterized by endolymphatic hydrops (ELH), vertigo attacks, sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus and pressure sensation in the affected ear. The disorder has to be differentiated from known causes of ELH and from other disorders provoking similar symptoms. Ménière's disease can seriously affect quality of life, and medical support is often necessary on a life long basis. The treatment modalities are counselling, preventive measures and life style adaptation, drug therapy, tinnitus coping, provision of hearing devices, and sometimes surgery. We review the indications for these modalities, and the evidence level of their beneficial effect.SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Streptococcus suis

Streptococcus suis is an important pathogen causing economic problems in the pig industry. Moreover, it is a zoonotic agent causing severe infections to people in close contact with infected pigs or pork-derived products. Although considered sporadic in the past, human S. suis infections have been reported during the last 45 years, with two large outbreaks recorded in China. In fact, the number of reported human cases has significantly increased in recent years. In this review, we present the worldwide distribution of serotypes and sequence types (STs), as determined by multilocus sequence typing, for pigs (between 2002 and 2013) and humans (between 1968 and 2013). The methods employed for S. suis identification and typing, the current epidemiological knowledge regarding serotypes and STs and the zoonotic potential of S. suis are discussed. Increased awareness of S. suis in both human and veterinary diagnostic laboratories and further establishment of typing methods will contribute to our knowledge of this pathogen, especially in regions where complete and/or recent data is lacking. More research is required to understand differences in virulence that occur among S. suis strains and if these differences can be associated with specific serotypes or STs