Schwannoma of the external auditory canal: a case report

BACKGROUND: Schwannomas are uncommon benign tumors of the external auditory canal. The clinical features, the differential diagnosis, and the surgical treatment of these lesions are discussed. CASE PRESENTATION: A 51-year-old patient presented with a mass obliterating the external auditory meatus. Excisional biopsy was performed. Diagnosis was reported to be schwannoma by histopathologic examination. CONCLUSION: Schwannoma, rarely seen in the external auditory canal, can be managed by a precise excision of the tumor via transmeatal approach

A rare case of sarcoidosis involving the middle turbinates: an incidental diagnosis

BACKGROUND: Sarcoidosis is a chronic, systemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology that features noncaseating granulomas in many body regions. Sinonasal involvement is rare but is also suspected to be underreported. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 39-year-old woman who was incidentally diagnosed with isolated sarcoidosis involving the middle turbinates. Histopathologic examination of resected concha bullosa material and an extensive panel of diagnostic tests revealed a diagnosis of isolated sarcoidosis. Since no systemic manifestations were detected, topical corticosteroid (nasal spray) was administered in the postoperative period. Throughout the 12 months after surgery, the patient remained free of symptoms and all nasal endoscopy examinations were normal. CONCLUSION: Although isolated nasal involvement of sarcoidosis is rare, otorhinolaryngologists should consider this condition in a differential diagnosis for sinonasal complaints

Protective effect of Nigella sativa oil on acoustic trauma induced hearing loss in rats

Acoustic trauma is a common reason for hearing loss. Different agents are used to prevent the harmful effect of acoustic trauma on hearing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential preventive effect of Nigella sativa (black cumin) oil in acoustic trauma. Our experimental study was conducted with 20 Sprague Downey female rats (mean age, 12 months; mean weight 250 g). All of the procedures were held under general anesthesia. Following otoscopic examinations, baseline-hearing thresholds were obtained using auditory brainstem responses (ABR). To create acoustic trauma, the rats were then exposed to white band noise of 4 kHz with an intensity level of 107 dB in a soundproof testing room. On Day 1 following acoustic trauma, hearing threshold measurements were repeated. The rats were divided into two groups as the study group (n: 10) and the controls (n: 10). 2 mL/kg/day of Nigella sativa oil was given to the rats in the study group orally. On Day 4 following acoustic trauma, ABR measurements were repeated again. There was no difference between the baseline hearing thresholds of the rats before acoustic trauma (P>0.005). After the acoustic trauma, hearing thresholds were increased and there was no significant statistically difference between the hearing thresholds of the study and control groups (P=0.979). At the 4th day following acoustic trauma, hearing thresholds of the rats in control group were found to be higher than those in the study group (P=0.03). Our results suggest that Nigella sativa oil has a protective effect against acoustic trauma in early period. This finding should be supported with additional experimental and clinical studies, especially to determine the optimal dose, duration and frequency of potential Nigella sativa oil therapy

Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms on the RYD5 Gene in Nasal Polyposis

Nasal polyposis (NP) is a chronic inflammatory disease. Several genes play major roles in the pathophysiology of the disease. We analyzed RYD5 gene polymorphisms to determine the effect of these variants or their genetic combinations on NP. We genotyped the RYD5 gene in 434 participants (196 patients with NP and 238 controls). Data were analyzed with SPSS, SNPStats, and multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) software. We genotyped 10 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the RYD5 gene. RYD5 (+152G>T) (p.Gly51Va) has not been reported previously. The PolyPhen and PROVEAN predicted the missense mutation as deleterious, but sorting intolerant from tolerant (SIFT) did not. In the genotype analysis, we found that four SNPs (RYD5 [-264A>G], [-103G>A], [+57-14C>T], and [+66A>G]) were significantly associated with NP. The individuals with combined genotypes of six risk alleles (RYD5-264G, -103A, +13C, +57-14T, +66G, and +279T) had significantly higher risks for NP compared with the ones with one or four risk alleles. Haplotype analysis revealed that the two haplotypes were associated with risk of NP. As indicated by MDR analysis, RYD5 (-264A>G and -103G>A) and RYD5 (-264A>G, -177C>A, and -103G>A) were the best predictive combinations and they had the highest synergistic interaction on NP. In addition, RYD5 (+13C>T) was significantly associated with increased risk of both NP with asthma and NP with allergy and asthma. Some SNPs and their combinations in the RYD5 gene are associated with increased probability for developing NP. We emphasize the importance of genetic factors on NP and NP-related clinical phenotypes