Speech Perception Changes in the Acoustically Aided, Nonimplanted Ear after Cochlear Implantation: A Multicenter Study

In recent years there has been an increasing percentage of cochlear implant (CI) users who have usable residual hearing in the contralateral, nonimplanted ear, typically aided by acoustic amplification. This raises the issue of the extent to which the signal presented through the cochlear implant may influence how listeners process information in the acoustically stimulated ear. This multicenter retrospective study examined pre- to postoperative changes in speech perception in the nonimplanted ear, the implanted ear, and both together. Results in the latter two conditions showed the expected increases, but speech perception in the nonimplanted ear showed a modest yet meaningful decrease that could not be completely explained by changes in unaided thresholds, hearing aid malfunction, or several other demographic variables. Decreases in speech perception in the nonimplanted ear were more likely in individuals who had better levels of speech perception in the implanted ear, and in those who had better speech perception in the implanted than in the nonimplanted ear. This raises the possibility that, in some cases, bimodal listeners may rely on the higher quality signal provided by the implant and may disregard or even neglect the input provided by the nonimplanted ear

The progestational and androgenic properties of medroxyprogesterone acetate: gene regulatory overlap with dihydrotestosterone in breast cancer cells

INTRODUCTION: Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), the major progestin used for oral contraception and hormone replacement therapy, has been implicated in increased breast cancer risk. Is this risk due to its progestational or androgenic properties? To address this, we assessed the transcriptional effects of MPA as compared with those of progesterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in human breast cancer cells. METHOD: A new progesterone receptor-negative, androgen receptor-positive human breast cancer cell line, designated Y-AR, was engineered and characterized. Transcription assays using a synthetic promoter/reporter construct, as well as endogenous gene expression profiling comparing progesterone, MPA and DHT, were performed in cells either lacking or containing progesterone receptor and/or androgen receptor. RESULTS: In progesterone receptor-positive cells, MPA was found to be an effective progestin through both progesterone receptor isoforms in transient transcription assays. Interestingly, DHT signaled through progesterone receptor type B. Expression profiling of endogenous progesterone receptor-regulated genes comparing progesterone and MPA suggested that although MPA may be a somewhat more potent progestin than progesterone, it is qualitatively similar to progesterone. To address effects of MPA through androgen receptor, expression profiling was performed comparing progesterone, MPA and DHT using Y-AR cells. These studies showed extensive gene regulatory overlap between DHT and MPA through androgen receptor and none with progesterone. Interestingly, there was no difference between pharmacological MPA and physiological MPA, suggesting that high-dose therapeutic MPA may be superfluous. CONCLUSION: Our comparison of the gene regulatory profiles of MPA and progesterone suggests that, for physiologic hormone replacement therapy, the actions of MPA do not mimic those of endogenous progesterone alone. Clinically, the complex pharmacology of MPA not only influences its side-effect profile; but it is also possible that the increased breast cancer risk and/or the therapeutic efficacy of MPA in cancer treatment is in part mediated by androgen receptor

Global wealth disparities drive adherence to COVID-safe pathways in head and neck cancer surgery

Peer reviewe

Robotic surgery in oral and maxillofacial, craniofacial and head and neck surgery: a systematic review of the literature

Item does not contain fulltextA systematic review of the literature concerning robotic surgery in oral and maxillofacial (OMF), craniofacial and head and neck surgery was performed. The objective was to give a clear overview of the different anatomical areas of research in the field of OMF, craniofacial and head and neck surgery, in all its fields (pre-clinical and clinical). The present indications are outlined and the critical reader is invited to assess the value of this new technology by highlighting different relevant parameters. A PubMed and Cochrane library search yielded 838 papers published between 1994 and 2011. After screening the abstracts, 202 articles were considered clinically or technically relevant and were included. These full papers were screened in detail and classified as articles on synopsis (n=41), educational aspects (n=3), technical/practical aspects (n=11) and clinical papers (n=147). Regarding clinical feasibility this systematic review revealed the following main indications: transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for upper digestive and respiratory tract lesions; TORS for skull base surgery; and TORS for trans-axillary thyroid and endocrine surgery. Regarding functional outcome, this systematic review revealed a promising reduction of morbidity in patients with cancer of the upper digastric and respiratory tract

The use of slaughterhouse-obtained small intestinal tissue as control material in histological studies should be applied with prudence

This study aimed to evaluate the reliability of slaughterhouse-obtained small intestinal tissue as control material in equine colic research where molecular stress responses in small intestinal tissue are investigated. For this purpose, small intestinal samples from colic horses were collected during surgery or immediately after euthanasia at the oral border of strangulation resection sites and routinely processed for histopathology (i.c. rinsed with 4°C Krebs’ solution, fixated overnight with 4% neutral buffered formaldehyde (FH) at room temperature). Control samples consisted of pieces of mid-jejunum, collected at the slaughterhouse and routinely processed for histopathology under 4 different conditions. The 4 conditions differed with regard to incubation and fixation temperature and whether or not oxygenated Krebs’ solution was used. Histological scoring revealed that slaughterhouse samples had a higher mean lesion score (P<0.001) than colic samples. In addition, more slaughterhouse samples had a higher mean inflammation score than colic samples (P=0.001). The inflammatory cells in the small intestine consisted mostly of eosinophils and as such were very suggestive for parasitic infestation. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) nuclear immunoreactivity was more pronounced in slaughterhouse tissue, probably as a result of the delay between slaughter and sampling (P=0.034). The histopathological score (P=0.291), the inflammation score (P=0.248) and the HIF1α nuclear immunoreactivity (P=0.538) did not differ between the different collection protocols. It is concluded that slaughterhouseobtained small intestinal tissue shows distinct alterations and that its use as control tissue when evaluating molecular stress responses should be applied with prudence

Lack of relation between human T-lymphotropic virus type I infection and systemic lupus erythematosus in Jamaica, West Indies.

To determine whether systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with human T-lymphotropic virus, type I (HTLV-I) infection in Jamaica, an endemic area for the virus, we studied 63 patients with SLE at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston. Antibodies to HTLV-I were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique using purified disrupted whole virus as antigen, with confirmation by p24 protein RIA or competitive binding. Four of 63 SLE patients were HTLV-I seropositive (6.3%). There was no evidence for excess HTLV-I infection in SLE patients when their age- and sex-standardized HTLV-I seroprevalence rate was compared to that of a large group of healthy food service employees. None of 13 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were seropositive for HTLV-I. We conclude that HTLV-I infection does not appear to be linked with SLE in Jamaica