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Medical Archives (Sarajevo, Bosnia and... Oct 2018Actinomycosis is a saprophytic infection caused by actinomycetes. Actinomycetes is a gram positive, anaerobic, non acid-fast, filamentous bacterium. Although actinomyce...
INTRODUCTION
Actinomycosis is a saprophytic infection caused by actinomycetes. Actinomycetes is a gram positive, anaerobic, non acid-fast, filamentous bacterium. Although actinomyce is considered as a part of the normal flora, it is rarely seen in middle ear and mastoid cavity.
AIM
is to report a rare case of Actinomycosis infection of the middle ear and mastoid cavity.
CASE REPORT
We presented A 24 years old male arrived to our outpatient department complaining of right-sided otalgia and hearing loss for 8 years, no history of otorreah, vertigo or dizziness. He had a history of right-sided chronic suppurative otitis media with a history of two operations at the same side. This report suggests that actinomycosis , although it is rare, it could occurs in middle ear. It should be considered as one of the differential for chronic suppurative otitis media patients with no improvement on medical treatment.
CONCLUSION
Combined medical and surgical treatment is the recommended management for Actinomycosis infection of the middle ear and mastoid cavity.
Topics: Actinomycosis; Adult; Ear, Middle; Humans; Male; Mastoid; Treatment Outcome; Young Adult
PubMed: 30514999
DOI: 10.5455/medarh.2018.72.295-296 -
Developmental Dynamics : An Official... Dec 2020The mammalian middle ear comprises a chain of ossicles, the malleus, incus, and stapes that act as an impedance matching device during the transmission of sound from the... (Review)
Review
The mammalian middle ear comprises a chain of ossicles, the malleus, incus, and stapes that act as an impedance matching device during the transmission of sound from the tympanic membrane to the inner ear. These ossicles are derived from cranial neural crest cells that undergo endochondral ossification and subsequently differentiate into their final functional forms. Defects that occur during middle ear development can result in conductive hearing loss. In this review, we summarize studies describing the crucial roles played by signaling molecules such as sonic hedgehog, bone morphogenetic proteins, fibroblast growth factors, notch ligands, and chemokines during the differentiation of neural crest into the middle ear ossicles. In addition to these cell-extrinsic signals, we also discuss studies on the function of transcription factor genes such as Foxi3, Tbx1, Bapx1, Pou3f4, and Gsc in regulating the development and morphology of the middle ear ossicles.
Topics: Animals; Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; Cell Differentiation; Chemokines; Ear Ossicles; Ear, Middle; Fibroblast Growth Factors; Humans; Neural Crest; Signal Transduction; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 33058336
DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.260 -
Advances in Oto-rhino-laryngology 2018The Eustachian tube is a complex structure connecting the middle ear to the nasopharynx that contributes to the normal function of the middle ear. Eustachian tube... (Review)
Review
The Eustachian tube is a complex structure connecting the middle ear to the nasopharynx that contributes to the normal function of the middle ear. Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) is thought to contribute to the majority of middle ear pathology, although the mechanisms and the degree to which it contributes to middle ear disease is poorly understood. We describe the anatomy and physiology of the Eustachian tube, define ETD, discuss the methods for measuring ETD and describe recent advances in treatment.
Topics: Ear Diseases; Eustachian Tube; Humans
PubMed: 29794454
DOI: 10.1159/000485581 -
European Archives of... Apr 2020Congenital cholesteatoma (CC) presents as a white pearl-like lesion behind a normal tympanic membrane (TM), without a history of otorrhea, infection, perforation or... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
PURPOSE
Congenital cholesteatoma (CC) presents as a white pearl-like lesion behind a normal tympanic membrane (TM), without a history of otorrhea, infection, perforation or previous otologic surgery. Several recent studies provided new data improving this pathology characterization. The aim of this paper is to expand the knowledge about CC and to provide new insights on its pathogenesis.
METHODS
The study consisted of two main research parts: (1) systematic review and meta-analysis; (2) medical literature review englobing anatomy, histology, embryology and congenital pathology of the ear.
RESULTS
The search strategy identified a total of 636 papers. Seventy retrospective studies were included. A total of 1497 cases were studied and the mean age was 6.58 years, with a male-female ratio of 3:1, 34% were asymptomatic, 26% had hearing loss and 2% had facial dysfunction/paralysis. The overall estimate for antero-superior quadrant involvement was 0.70 [95% confident interval (CI) 0.64-0.76], in the postero-superior quadrant was 0.60 (95% CI 0.52-0.69), in the antero-inferior quadrant was 0.32 (95% CI 0.23-0.41), in the postero-inferior quadrant was 0.38 (95% CI 0.29-0.47), in the attic was 0.53 (95% CI 0.43-0.63) and in the mastoid was 0.33 (95% CI 0.26-0.41). More advanced Potsic stages were present in older patients. The most likely inclusion place seems to be between the pars flaccida and the upper quadrants of the pars tensa.
CONCLUSIONS
During the last decades, a substantial improvement in CC diagnosis and management had been achieved. The presented mechanism seems to explain most of middle ear CC.
Topics: Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear; Ear, Middle; Humans; Mastoid; Tympanic Membrane
PubMed: 31955213
DOI: 10.1007/s00405-020-05792-4 -
PloS One 2021As the resolution of 3D printing techniques improves, the possibility of individualized, 3-ossicle constructions adds a new dimension to middle ear prostheses. In order...
As the resolution of 3D printing techniques improves, the possibility of individualized, 3-ossicle constructions adds a new dimension to middle ear prostheses. In order to optimize these designs, it is essential to understand how the ossicles and ligaments work together to transmit sound, and thus how ligaments should be replicated in a middle ear reconstruction. The middle ear ligaments are thought to play a significant role in maintaining the position of the ossicles and constraining axis of rotation. Paradoxically, investigations of the role of ligaments to date have shown very little impact on middle ear sound transmission. We explored the role of the two attachments in the gerbil middle ear analogous to human ligaments, the posterior incudal ligament and the anterior mallear process, severing both attachments and measuring change in hearing sensitivity. The impact of severing the attachments on the position of the ossicular chain was visualized using synchrotron microtomography imaging of the middle ear. In contrast to previous studies, a threshold change on the order of 20 dB across a wide range of frequencies was found when both ligaments were severed. Concomitantly, a shift in position of the ossicles was observed from the x-ray imaging and 3D renderings of the ossicular chain. These findings contrast with previous studies, demonstrating that these ligaments play a significant role in the transmission of sound through the middle ear. It appears that both mallear and incudal ligaments must be severed in order to impair sound transmission. The results of this study have significance for middle ear reconstructive surgery and the design of 3D-printed three-ossicle biocompatible prostheses.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Action Potentials; Animals; Auditory Threshold; Biocompatible Materials; Cochlea; Ear, Middle; Female; Gerbillinae; Lasers, Gas; Ligaments; Male; Ossicular Prosthesis; Printing, Three-Dimensional; X-Ray Microtomography
PubMed: 34428235
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255821 -
The Journal of the Acoustical Society... Aug 2023In the last decades, finite-element models of the middle ear have been widely used to predict the middle-ear vibration outputs. Even with the simplest linear assumption...
In the last decades, finite-element models of the middle ear have been widely used to predict the middle-ear vibration outputs. Even with the simplest linear assumption for material properties of the structures in the middle ear, these models need tens of parameters. Due to the complexities of measurements of material properties of these structures, accurate estimations of the values of most of these parameters are not possible. In this study, we benefited from the stochastic finite-element model of the middle ear we had developed in the past, to perform global sensitivity analysis. For this aim, we implemented Sobol' sensitivity analysis which ranks the importance of all uncertain parameters and interactions among them at different frequencies. To decrease the computational costs, we found Sobol' indices from surrogate models that we created using stochastic finite-element results and the polynomial chaos expansion method. Based on the results, the Young's modulus and thickness of the tympanic membrane, Young's modulus and damping of the stapedial annular ligaments, and the Young's modulus of ossicles are among the parameters with the greatest impacts on vibrations of the umbo and stapes footplate. Furthermore, the most significant interactions happen between the Young's modulus and thickness of the tympanic membrane.
Topics: Humans; Finite Element Analysis; Ear, Middle; Tympanic Membrane; Stapes; Vibration; Models, Biological
PubMed: 37535428
DOI: 10.1121/10.0020273 -
Scientific Reports Mar 2022Birds exhibit wide variation in their use of aquatic environments, on a spectrum from entirely terrestrial, through amphibious, to highly aquatic. Although there are...
Birds exhibit wide variation in their use of aquatic environments, on a spectrum from entirely terrestrial, through amphibious, to highly aquatic. Although there are limited empirical data on hearing sensitivity of birds underwater, mounting evidence indicates that diving birds detect and respond to sound underwater, suggesting that some modifications of the ear may assist foraging or other behaviors below the surface. In air, the tympanic middle ear acts as an impedance matcher that increases sound pressure and decreases sound vibration velocity between the outside air and the inner ear. Underwater, the impedance-matching task is reversed and the ear is exposed to high hydrostatic pressures. Using micro- and nano-CT (computerized tomography) scans of bird ears in 127 species across 26 taxonomic orders, we measured a suite of morphological traits of importance to aerial and aquatic hearing to test predictions relating to impedance-matching in birds with distinct aquatic lifestyles, while accounting for allometry and phylogeny. Birds that engage in underwater pursuit and deep diving showed the greatest differences in ear structure relative to terrestrial species. In these heavily modified ears, the size of the input areas of both the tympanic membrane and the columella footplate of the middle ear were reduced. Underwater pursuit and diving birds also typically had a shorter extrastapedius, a reduced cranial air volume and connectivity and several modifications in line with reversals of low-to-high impedance-matching. The results confirm adaptations of the middle ear to aquatic lifestyles in multiple independent bird lineages, likely facilitating hearing underwater and baroprotection, while potentially constraining the sensitivity of aerial hearing.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Animals; Birds; Ear; Ear, Middle; Hearing
PubMed: 35347167
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-09090-3 -
International Journal of Pediatric... Mar 2020To update the medical literature on recent large-scale studies employing bioinformatics data analysis tools in otitis media (OM) disease models with a principal focus on... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVES
To update the medical literature on recent large-scale studies employing bioinformatics data analysis tools in otitis media (OM) disease models with a principal focus on developments in the past 5 years.
DATA SOURCES
Pubmed indexed peer-reviewed articles.
REVIEW METHODS
Comprehensive review of the literature using the following search terms: 'genomics, inflammasome, microRNA, proteomics, transcriptome, bioinformatics' with the term 'otitis media', and 'middle ear'. Included articles published in the English language from January 1, 2015-April 1, 2019.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Large scale bioinformatics tools over the past five years lend credence to the paradigm of innate immune response playing a critical role in host defense against bacteria contributing to Otitis Media (OM) progression from acute to chronic. In total, genomic, miRNAomic, and proteomic analyses all point to the need for a tightly regulated innate immune and inflammatory response in the middle ear. Currently, there is an urgent need for developing novel therapeutic strategies to control immunopathology and tissue damage, improve hearing and enhance host defense for both acute and chronic OM based on full understanding of the basic molecular pathogenesis of OM.
Topics: Acute Disease; Chronic Disease; Computational Biology; Disease Progression; Ear, Middle; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genomics; Humans; Immunity, Innate; Inflammasomes; MicroRNAs; Microbiota; Otitis Media; Proteomics
PubMed: 31899006
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2019.109834 -
Evolution; International Journal of... Mar 2018The repeated, independent evolution of traits (convergent evolution) is often attributed to shared environmental selection pressures. However, developmental dependencies...
The repeated, independent evolution of traits (convergent evolution) is often attributed to shared environmental selection pressures. However, developmental dependencies among traits can limit the phenotypic variation available to selection and bias evolutionary outcomes. Here, we determine how changes in developmentally correlated traits may impact convergent loss of the tympanic middle ear, a highly labile trait within toads that currently lack adaptive explanation. The middle ear's lability could reflect evolutionary trade-offs with other skull features under selection, or the middle ear may evolve independently of the rest of the skull, allowing it to be modified by active or passive processes without pleiotropic trade-offs with other skull features. We compare the skulls of 55 species (39 eared, 16 earless) within the family Bufonidae, spanning six hypothesized independent middle ear transitions. We test whether shared or lineage-specific changes in skull shape distinguish earless species from eared species and whether earless skulls lack other late-forming skull bones. We find no evidence for pleiotropic trade-offs between the middle ear and other skull structures. Instead, middle ear loss in anurans may provide a rare example of developmental independence contributing to evolutionary lability of a sensory system.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Bufonidae; Ear, Middle; Phenotype; Skull
PubMed: 29383712
DOI: 10.1111/evo.13442 -
The International Tinnitus Journal Mar 2024Opacification in the middle ear and mastoid region can stem from a wide range of factors. In terms of diagnostic imaging, CT is the primary tool due to its exceptional... (Review)
Review
Opacification in the middle ear and mastoid region can stem from a wide range of factors. In terms of diagnostic imaging, CT is the primary tool due to its exceptional spatial resolution, particularly for examining the temporal bone and ossicles. MRI complements this by offering detailed soft tissue lesion characterization and assessing involvement in the inner ear and cranial nerves. This study focuses on inflammatory causes of opacification in the middle ear and mastoid, with an emphasis on the utility of CT and MRI. This comprehensive review aimed to provide a practical framework for considering potential differential diagnoses.
Topics: Humans; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Ear, Middle; Temporal Bone; Mastoid; Magnetic Resonance Imaging
PubMed: 38507628
DOI: 10.5935/0946-5448.20230023