Search results for "Otorhinolaryngologic diseases"
showing 10 items of 838 documents
Torsional eye movement responses to monaural and binaural galvanic vestibular stimulation: side-to-side asymmetries.
2003
Vestibular stimulation by head accelerations always involves multisensory activation of the vestibular, somatosensory, and visual systems. Over the past few years, galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) has become increasingly popular for testing vestibular function for clinical and research purposes. Although GVS provides a nonphysiological stimulation, it is more selective than natural head accelerations and is thus an attractive tool for such tests. Eye movement responses elicited by GVS mainly consist of torsional and horizontal components, as first described by Hitzig in 1871. Animal experiments have shown that GVS increases the vestibular afferent spike frequency at the cathodal site a…
Tree-pollen allergy is efficiently treated by short-term immunotherapy (STI) with seven preseasonal injections of molecular standardized allergens.
1998
The efficacy and tolerance of short-term immunotherapy (STI) by seven preseasonal injections of tree-pollen allergens (ALK7 Fruhbluhermischung) was investigated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study with 111 rhinoconjunctivitis patients. Nasal and bronchial symptoms simultaneously analyzed, and nasal symptoms as a single end point, but not the overall score of nasal, bronchial, and conjunctival symptoms, showed a significantly lower increase with STI during birch-pollen exposure (both P=0.033, n=105, Mann-Whitney U-test). However, a selective analysis with patients from centers with high recruitment figures (n> or =10 patients, n=29 STI, n=32 placebo) showed a significant…
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo following whiplash injury: a myth or a reality?
2011
Abstract Objective The aim of the study was to evaluate the true incidence, diagnosis, and treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) arising after whiplash injury and to distinguish this type of posttraumatic vertigo from other types of dizziness complained after trauma. Methods This was a retrospective study comprising patients referred to our center after whiplash injury. The patients were evaluated with neurotologic examination including bedside and instrumental tests. A Dizziness Handicap Inventory evaluating the symptoms of patients was submitted before and after treatment and was evaluated. The BPPV patients were separately evaluated from those with cervicogenic vertigo…
Management of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of lateral semicircular canal by Gufoni's manoeuvre
2009
Abstract Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) of lateral semicircular canal (LSC) is one of the rarer forms of BPPV as compared to posterior semicircular canal BPPV. Various particle repositioning manoeuvres have been described in the literature as a mode of treating this condition. Purpose Evaluation and discussion of the procedure of the Gufoni's manoeuvre and its advantages in the treatment of BPPV of LSC. Material and methods Prospective study of 58 patients affected by LSC BPPV who were office-treated with Gufoni's manoeuvre. Results Seventy-nine percent of the patients so treated had complete resolution of symptoms, and 6.9% did not show any improvement in their symptoms. The r…
Comparison of repositioning maneuvers for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of posterior semicircular canal: advantages of hybrid maneuver.
2012
Objective: The prevalence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is becoming more frequent in elderly population. The presence of comorbid factors has to be considered before assessment as well as before commencing any repositioning treatment. Our aims were evaluation of the maneuvers efficacy and evaluation of the applicability of hybrid maneuver (HM) in patients with physical limitation. Study design and setting: This is a randomized study in 2 tertiary referral centers. Intervention: This is a therapeutic intervention. Patients: All consecutive patients with diagnosis of BPPV of posterior canal matching the inclusion criteria were enrolled. Patients underwent treatment soon after…
Evaluation of esophagogastric junction relaxation by 4-second Integrated Relaxation Pressure in achalasia using High Resolution Manometry with water-…
2014
Background Relaxation of the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) is now evaluated calculating 4-second integrated relaxation pressure (4-s IRP) by high resolution manometry (HREPT). Solid-state catheters have been used to define abnormal values. Our aim was to evaluate 4-s IRP in esophageal achalasia using HREPT with perfused catheters. Methods From June 2009 to June 2013, 936 HREPT studies have been performed in our unit. Of these, 194 patients having treated achalasia were excluded. Control group was constituted by 695 patients without achalasia, and 47 patients with untreated achalasia constituted the study group. HREPT was performed with water-perfused catheters. To establish the cut-off val…
A functional study of the esophagus in patients with non-cardiac chest pain and dysphagia.
2015
Background/Aims: Nutcracker esophagus and non-specific motility disorders are the main causes of non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP), with gastroesophageal reflux in 60% of cases. Achalasia and diffuse esophageal spasm are the most frequent anomalies described in patients with dysphagia. The goal of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of esophageal body and lower esophageal sphincter motor abnormalities in patients with dysphagia, NCCP, or both. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of 716 patients with NCCP and/or dysphagia tested between January 1994 and December 2010. 1023 functional studies were performed, 707 of which were esophageal manometries, 225 esophageal …
Cortical representation of saccular vestibular stimulation: VEMPs in fMRI
2006
Short tone bursts trigger a vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP), an inhibitory potential which reflects a component of the vestibulocollic reflex (VCR). These potentials arise as a result of activation of the sacculus and are expressed through the vestibulo-collic reflex (VCR). Up to now, the ascending projections of the sacculus are unknown in humans, only the representation of the semicircular canals or the entire vestibular nerve has been demonstrated. The aim of this study was to determine whether a sacculus stimulus that evoked VEMPs could activate vestibular cortical areas in fMRI. To determine this, we studied the differential effects of unilateral VEMP stimulation in 21 heal…
Increased amplitudes of distortion product otoacoustic emissions in patients with unilateral acoustic neuroma.
2004
We present a case series of 4 patients with a unilateral acoustic neuroma and increased amplitudes of the distortion products of otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) at the low- and middle- frequency bandwidth on the involved side compared to the uninvolved side despite a 28-dB hearing level (HL) worse (compared to the uninvolved side) pure-tone hearing threshold average for standard audiometric frequencies between 1 and 6 kHz at the involved side. In 3 of these patients, 2 with an inferior vestibular nerve origin of the acoustic neuroma and one in whom the nerve of origin could not be unequivocally defined, the tumor was extending extrameatally. One patient had a purely intrameatal acoustic neur…
Intratympanic gentamicin treatment after endolymphatic sac surgery.
2005
Interval treatment with up to three intratympanic gentamicin injections once weekly effectively controlled vertigo while preserving hearing in patients with Ménière's disease and recurrent or resistant vertigo after saccotomy.Recurrent or resistant incapacitating vertigo may occur after endolymphatic sac surgery (saccotomy) in patients with Ménière's disease. In these patients, revision saccotomy, vestibular nerve section or labyrinthectomy are the established treatment options. We advocate a once-weekly application of intratympanic gentamicin (12 mg) as an effective alternative in this group of patients.Five patients (age range 39-65 years) with definite Ménière's disease according to the …