Hearing loss in Takayasu's arteritis: a role for hyperbaric oxygen therapy?

In the scientific community, there is growing interest regarding associated symptoms in Takayasu’s arteritis (TA), an autoimmune condition that mainly affects the medium and large arteries. Hearing loss (HL) is a rare complication of TA that is often overlooked and has severe consequences on the quality of life. HL mainly presents as sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and responds to corticosteroid therapy. In the authors’ opinion, the reasons for misdiagnosing HL in patients with TA are lack of evidence re- garding this rare complication and because TA involves large caliber arteries, instead of small vessels that are typical of the inner ear. We recently used HBOT for a 36-year-old woman with TA, who had two SSNHL episodes in different ears in an 11-month period and observed a significant improvement in the patient's hearing. Although this was a single case finding and HBOT was administered together with steroid therapy, the significant recovery of HL in both ears following this therapeutic approach may be worth sharing with the scientific community. In conclusion, we recommend that awareness for inner ear involvement in TA should increase and that HL should be considered a possible complication of TA and should be treated with corticosteroid therapy and, after collecting further evidence, HBOT

Comparison principle and constrained radial symmetry for the subdiffusive p-laplacian

A comparison principle for the subdiffusive p-Laplacian in a possibly non-smooth and unbounded open set is proved. The result requires that the involved suband supersolution are positive, and the ratio of the former to the latter is bounded. As an application, constrained radial symmetry for overdetermined problems is obtained. More precisely, both Dirichlet and Neumann conditions are prescribed on the boundary of a bounded open set, and the Neumann condition depends on the distance from the origin. The domain of the problem, unknown at the beginning, turns out to be a ball centered at the origin if a positive solution exists. Counterexamples are also discussed

Ressenyes

Index de les obres ressenyades: GAZIEL, En las trincheras. El reportero que mejor narró la primera Guerra Mundial

Somatosensory tinnitus: current evidence and future perspectives

In some individuals, tinnitus can be modulated by specific maneuvers of the temporomandibular joint, head and neck, eyes, and limbs. Neuroplasticity seems to play a central role in this capacity for modulation, suggesting that abnormal interactions between the sensory modalities, sensorimotor systems, and neurocognitive and neuroemotional networks may contribute to the development of somatosensory tinnitus. Current evidence supports a link between somatic disorders and higher modulation of tinnitus, especially in patients with a normal hearing threshold. Patients with tinnitus who have somatic disorders seems to have a higher chance of modulating their tinnitus with somatic maneuvers; consistent improvements in tinnitus symptoms have been observed in patients with temporomandibular joint disease following targeted therapy for temporomandibular disorders. Somatosensory tinnitus is often overlooked by otolaryngologists and not fully investigated during the diagnostic process. Somatic disorders, when identified and treated, can be a valid therapeutic target for tinnitus; however, somatic screening of subjects for somatosensory tinnitus is imperative for correct selection of patients who would benefit from a multidisciplinary somatic approach

Ressenyes

Index de les obres ressenyades: Montserrat JIMÉNEZ SUREDA, Girona, 1793-1795. Guerra Gran i organització política a la monarquia dels Borbon

Ressenyes

Index de les obres ressenyades: Enzo TRAVERSO, A Sangre y Fuego : de la Guerra Civil europea, 1914-194