the hydrops by image analyses. A 64 years-old female who showed partial recovery of hearing disturbance two months after the onset of sudden deafness underwent inner ear MRI in combination with intratympanic injection of gadolinium. Two-dimensional fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (2D-FLAIR) sequences taken by 3 tesla MR unit showed endolymphatic hydrops in the cochlea. Electrocochleogram co...

Intratympanic drug delivery refers to drug administration in the middle ear, the main advantage being direct diffusion of substances in the inner ear through the round window membrane with subsequent high intralabiryntine drug concentration and very low systemic side effects. The article is a review of literature concerning the inner ear barrier systems, the physiology of inner ear fluids, intr...

The cochlea and vestibular structures of the inner ear labyrinth develop from the otic capsule via step-wise regional and cell fate specification. Each inner ear structure contains a sensory epithelium, composed of hair cells, the mechanosensory transducers, and supporting cells. We examined the spatio-temporal expression of genes in the Notch signaling pathway, Notch receptors (Notch1-4) and t...

Mitchell SJ, Doolette DJ. Selective vulnerability of the inner ear to decompression sickness in divers with right-to-left shunt: the role of tissue gas supersaturation. J Appl Physiol 106: 298–301, 2009. First published September 18, 2008; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.90915.2008.— Inner ear decompression sickness has been strongly associated with the presence of right-to-left shunts. The implied in...

An early and crucial event in vertebrate inner ear development is the acquisition of axial identities that in turn dictate the positions of all subsequent inner ear components. Here, we focus on the role of the hindbrain in establishment of inner ear axes and show that axial specification occurs well after otic placode formation in chicken. Anteroposterior (AP) rotation of the hindbrain prior t...

The external and middle ears are important to auditory function as they are the gateway through which sound energy reaches the inner ear. Also, middle-ear disease is the most common cause of hearing loss, and while a wide range of treatments have been developed many lead to unsatisfactory hearing results. We use measurements of middle-ear structure and function in animals, live human patients a...

OBJECTIVE Otitis media is known to alter expression of cytokine and other genes in the mouse middle ear and inner ear. However, whole mouse genome studies of gene expression in otitis media have not previously been undertaken. Ninety-nine percent of mouse genes are shared in the human, so these studies are relevant to the human condition. METHODS To assess inflammation-driven processes in the...