The evaluation of a surgery and the short-term benefits of a new active bone conduction hearing implant - the Osia®

Introduction: Modern medicine offers a wide spectrum of different hearing devices, and bone conduction implants can be found among them. Objective: The presentation of the outcomes of the implantation of a new active bone conduction hearing implant --- the Osia®, and its comparison with the well-known passive transcutaneous system --- the Baha® Attract. Materials and methods: Eight adult patients with bilateral mixed hearing loss were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 was implanted with the Osia®, and group 2 was implanted with the Baha® Attract. The details of the surgery were analyzed, along with the functional and audiological results. Results: In all the cases, the surgery was successful, and the healing uneventful. In both groups, it was observed that pure tone audiometry and speech audiometry in free field improved significantly after the implantation (mean gain in pure tone audiometry for the Osia group 42.8 dB SPL and for the Baha group 38.8 dB SPL). In the Osia group, the results after the surgery were much better than with the Baha® 5 Power processor on the Softband. The patients implanted with the Osia® evaluated the quality of their hearing as being superior to those implanted with the Baha® Attract. There was an evident improvement in the abbreviated profile of hearing aid benefit questionnaire and in the speech, spatial and qualities of hearing scale for both systems

The survey of parents’ and adults recipients’ satisfaction with cochlear implantation determined by the place of residence

Introduction: The use of cochlear implants (CI) has been a remarkable success in reducing disabilities in patients with impaired hearing. The definition of success for those patients means improvement of hearing ability for adults, possibility to develop speech and language for children, quality of life improvement and satisfaction with the whole CI implantation procedure. The aim: To examine patient satisfaction, determined by their place of residence, with all activities in progress during CI implantation including care in subsequent years. Material and methods: The study was conducted prospectively. Online surveys were sent to 1,906 CI patients, with the response rate reaching 33%; thus 630 surveys were analyzed. Demographic data of the respondents were collected: gender, age of implantation, one- or two-sided implantation, place of residence and implanting clinic. A detailed statistical analysis of the obtained data was performed. Results: One of the problems observed was the aspect of waiting time for qualification, implantation and replacement of the speech processor. The second problem was the travel time to the CI center and that was strictly connected with the place of the residence of a patient. Patients’ satisfaction with the control visit was high for majority of them. Conclusions: This research highlighted the limitations of the current CI service delivery. Significant differences concerning the CI pathway were found for particular regions of Poland. One of the future goals for healthcare providers should be to level out the differences in access to CI services between different regions of Poland

Piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implant Osia® – audiological and quality of life benefits

Introduction: Nowadays, there are many options to treat hearing-impaired patients: tympanoplastic surgery, hearing aids and a wide range of implantable devices. Aim: The aim of this study is to present the mid-term audiological and quality of life benefits after the implantation of Osia®, an active piezoelectric bone conduction hearing implant. Material and methods: The state of the tissues in the implanted area, as well as audiological and quality of life results were analyzed at six, nine and twelve months after implantation in a group of four adult patients with bilateral mixed hearing loss (1 after bilateral canal-wall-down mastoidectomy, 2 with chronic simple otitis media and after myringoplasty in the opposite ear, 1 with bilateral otosclerosis and after stapedotomy in the opposite ear). Results: No postoperative complications were found in any of the cases. One year after surgery the mean audiological gain in FF PTA4 (pure tone average for 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) was 52.2 ± 3.5 dB in comparison to the unaided situation, the mean speech understanding with Osia® in quiet was 90 ± 8.2% for 50 dB SPL, 98.8 ± 2.5% for 65 dB SPL and 100 ± 0% for 80 dB SPL, and the mean speech understanding with Osia® in noise was 37.5% ± 23.6 for 50 dB SPL, 93.8 ± 4.8% for 65 dB SPL and 98.8 ± 2.5% for 80 dB SPL. There was also an evident improvement in the quality of hearing as well as in the quality of life, measured by APHAB (Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit) and SSQ (Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale). Conclusions: The Osia® is an effective treatment option for patients with bilateral mixed hearing loss. The mid-term audiological and quality of life results are excellent, but further observations including bigger groups of patients and a longer follow-up are required

Evaluation of quality of life in patients after cochlear implantation surgery in 2014-2017

Introduction: Profound hearing loss significantly affects the quality of life of deaf people as well as their families. Observation of the benefit from the use of cochlear implants in deaf patients allows to assess the success of treatment with this method and its impact on the quality of life of these patients. The aim of this study was to determine the quality of life in patient after the cochlear implantation in the material of Department of Phoniatrics and Audiology of the Medical University in Poznań. Material and methods: The study involved implanted patients who voluntarily joined to the project entitled "Observational study of the implanted patient (Cochlear-IROS)". It has a prospective character, it is an international and long-term study, covering the observation of patients up to three years after implantation. Standardized HUI and SSQ questionnaires were used. 70 patients were included in the analysis, the mean age at the time of the cochlear implantation was 47.6 years. In the research group there were 33 men and 37 women. In the whole group, the patients' age at implantation was at least 18 years, max. 80 years. Results: The results of the SSQ questionnaire, which deals with the self-assessment of hearing ability in everyday situations, indicate that in the subjective assessment of patients one year after surgery the speech hearing improved by 77%, spatial hearing by 84%, and the quality of hearing by 49%. The general quality of life before the first connection of the sound processor according to the HUI questionnaire, the patients rated at 0.49 (0-1 scale, where 0 - corresponds to the death condition and 1 - full health). After one year from the implantation, this rating increased to 0.56. Conclusions: The implantation of the cochlear implant significantly increases the patient's quality of life, its physical and emotional functioning. Statistically significant better self-assessment of patients mainly concerned hearing speech and spatial hearing - especially after 1 year of connecting the speech processor

Production of wheat-doubled haploids resistant to eyespot supported by marker-assisted selection

Background: Wheat is one of the most important crops cultivated all over the world. New high-yielding cultivars that are more resistant to fungal diseases have been permanently developed. The present study aimed at the possibility of accelerating the process of breeding new cultivars, resistant to eyespot, by using doubled haploids (DH) system supported by marker-assisted selection. Results: Two highly resistant breeding lines (KBP 0916 and KBH 4942/05) carrying Pch1 gene were crossed with the elite wheat genotypes. Hybrid plants of early generations were analyzed using endopeptidase EpD1 and two SSR markers linked to the Pch1 locus. Selected homozygous and heterozygous genotypes for the Pch1-linked EpD1b allele were used to produce haploid plants. Molecular analyses were performed on haploids to identify plants possessing Pch1 gene. Chromosome doubling was performed only on haploid plants with Pch1 gene. Finally, 65 DH lines carrying eyespot resistance gene Pch1 and 30 lines without this gene were chosen for the eyespot resistance phenotyping in a field experiment. Conclusions: Results of the experiment confirmed higher resistance to eyespot of the genotypes with Pch1 in comparison to those without this gene. This indicates the efficiency of selection at the haploid level.How to cite: Wiśniewska H, Majka M, Kwiatek M, et al. Production of wheat doubled haploids resistant to eyespot supported by marker-assisted selection. Electron J Biotechnol 2019;37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2018.10.003 Keywords: Breeding, Crops, Doubled haploids, Eyespot, Gene expression, Marker-assisted selection, Molecular breeding, Triticum aestivum, Wheat cultivars, Wheat genotypes, Whea

Skuteczność zastosowania minimikrofonów wspomagających słyszenie w terapii dzieci z implantem ślimakowym – badanie wieloośrodkowe

Większość dzieci z niedosłuchem dzięki programom przesiewowych badań słuchu, wczesnemu aparatowaniu oraz wczesnej interwencji terapeutycznej rozwija mowę tak dobrze, że uczestniczy w zajęciach przedszkolnych w grupach słyszących rówieśników. Zajęcia te często odbywają się w niekorzystnych warunkach akustycznych. W badaniu przeprowadzonym na grupie 25 dzieci z wadą słuchu w wieku 3–8 lat (śr. 5,9) – użytkowników implantu ślimakowego – sprawdzono skuteczność zastosowania dodatkowych akcesoriów wspomagających słyszenie (minimikrofonów bezprzewodowych) w terapii i edukacji. Uzyskano wyniki potwierdzające pozytywny wpływ użycia urządzenia dodatkowo wspomagającego słyszenie w zakresie reakcji na dźwięk, lokalizacji oraz jakości słyszenia.The majority of children with hearing loss, thanks to screening programs, early fitting with hearing aids, and early therapeutic interventions, develop speech well enough to attend preschool along with their hearing peers. These preschool programs often take place in adverse acoustic conditions. In a study conducted on 25 children with hearing impairments aged 3 to 8 years (mean 5.9) – cochlear implant users – the therapeutic and educational effectiveness of the use of an additional hearing assistive device (mini wireless microphone) was tested. The results obtained confirmed the positive impact of the use of the device in additionally aiding hearing abilities in the areas of response to sound, sound localization, and quality of hearing