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Annals of Palliative Medicine Dec 2021Abnormal inner ear anatomy increases the risk of cochlear implantation because only a certain number of neurons can input signals to the auditory cortex. Therefore, the... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Abnormal inner ear anatomy increases the risk of cochlear implantation because only a certain number of neurons can input signals to the auditory cortex. Therefore, the effectiveness and safety of cochlear implantation for patients with large vestibular aqueduct deformity (LVAD) are controversial and we explored whether cochlear implantation can improve the hearing of patients with this defect.
METHODS
Randomized controlled trials of cochlear implantation for the treatment of LVAD were retrieved from the CNKI, Baidu Academic, VIP Medical, Wanfang Data, PubMed, EBSCO, Medline, and Cochrane databases from the date of establishment of the database to July 20, 2021. Chinese and English search keywords included Large vestibular canal malformation, Deafness, large vestibular aqueduct, and Cochlear implants. We used RevMan 5.3 to evaluate the quality of the literature.
RESULTS
A total of 5 documents that met the inclusion criteria were tested for overall heterogeneity. For the heterogeneity test of categories of auditory performance, Chi-squared (Chi2) =4.00, degrees of freedom (df) =1, I2=75%>50%, and P=0.05. Overall analysis using a random-effects model showed no statistically considerable difference between the deformity group and the control group [Z=0.78, mean difference (MD) =-0.65, 95% confidence interval (CI): -2.29 to 0.98, P=0.43]. There was no substantial difference in postoperative hearing ability between LVAD patients and those with normal inner ear structure. Continuous variables were used to describe the speech intelligibility rate (SIR) in a total of 48 cases, including 24 cases in the deformity group and 24 cases in the control group. For the heterogeneity test of the whole population, Chi2 =1.75, df =1, I2=43%<50%, and P=0.19. Overall analysis using a fixed-effects model showed that the difference between the deformity group and the control group was statistically considerable (Z=3.09, MD =-1.03, 95% CI: -1.69 to -0.38, P=0.002).
DISCUSSION
The meta-analysis results confirmed that with postoperative rehabilitation for LVAD patients with cochlear implants the clinical efficacy is similar to that of deaf patients with normal inner ear structure, providing an important basis for hearing restoration.
Topics: Cochlear Implantation; Cochlear Implants; Ear, Inner; Hearing Loss, Sensorineural; Humans; Vestibular Aqueduct
PubMed: 35016448
DOI: 10.21037/apm-21-3327 -
The British Journal of Nutrition Mar 2023Iodine, through the thyroid hormones, is required for the development of the auditory cortex and cochlea (the sensory organ for hearing). Deafness is a well-documented... (Review)
Review
Iodine, through the thyroid hormones, is required for the development of the auditory cortex and cochlea (the sensory organ for hearing). Deafness is a well-documented feature of endemic cretinism resulting from severe iodine deficiency. However, the range of effects of suboptimal iodine intake during auditory development on the hearing ability of children is less clear. We therefore aimed to systematically review the evidence for the association between iodine exposure (i.e. intake/status/supplementation) during development (i.e. pregnancy and/or childhood) and hearing outcomes in children. We searched PubMed and Embase and identified 330 studies, of which thirteen were included in this review. Only three of the thirteen studies were of low risk of bias or of good quality, this therefore limited our ability to draw firm conclusions. Nine of the studies (69 %) were in children (one RCT, two non-RCT interventions and six cross-sectional studies) and four (31 %) were in pregnant women (one RCT, one cohort study and two case reports). The RCT of iodine supplementation in mildly iodine-deficient pregnant women found no effect on offspring hearing thresholds. However, hearing was a secondary outcome of the trial and not all women were from an iodine-deficient area. Iodine supplementation of severely iodine-deficient children (in both non-RCT interventions) resulted in improved hearing thresholds. Five of six cross-sectional studies (83 %) found that higher iodine status in children was associated with better hearing. The current evidence base for the association between iodine status and hearing outcomes is limited and further good-quality research on this topic is needed.
Topics: Child; Humans; Female; Pregnancy; Iodine; Child Development; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dietary Supplements; Hearing
PubMed: 35535480
DOI: 10.1017/S0007114522001441 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... Jan 2022Background noise and voice problems among teachers can degrade listening conditions in classrooms. The aim of this literature review is to understand how these acoustic... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
PURPOSE
Background noise and voice problems among teachers can degrade listening conditions in classrooms. The aim of this literature review is to understand how these acoustic degradations affect spoken language processing in 6- to 18-year-old children.
METHOD
In a narrative report and meta-analysis, we systematically review studies that examined the effects of noise and/or impaired voice on children's response accuracy and response time (RT) in listening tasks. We propose the Speech Processing under Acoustic DEgradations (SPADE) framework to classify relevant findings according to three processing dimensions-speech perception, listening comprehension, and auditory working memory-and highlight potential moderators.
RESULTS
Thirty-one studies are included in this systematic review. Our meta-analysis shows that noise can impede children's accuracy in listening tasks across all processing dimensions (Cohen's between -0.67 and -2.65, depending on signal-to-noise ratio) and that impaired voice lowers children's accuracy in listening comprehension tasks ( = -0.35). A handful of studies assessed RT, but results are inconclusive. The impact of noise and impaired voice can be moderated by listener, task, environmental, and exposure factors. The interaction between noise and impaired voice remains underinvestigated.
CONCLUSIONS
Overall, this review suggests that children have more trouble perceiving speech, processing verbal messages, and recalling verbal information when listening to speech in noise or to a speaker with dysphonia. Impoverished speech input could impede pupils' motivation and academic performance at school.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.17139377.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Dysphonia; Humans; Language; Noise; Speech Perception; Voice Quality
PubMed: 34902257
DOI: 10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00183 -
American Journal of Audiology Jun 2021Purpose People with hearing impairment (HI) face numerous challenges that can be minimized with the use of hearing aids and cochlear implants. Despite technological... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Purpose People with hearing impairment (HI) face numerous challenges that can be minimized with the use of hearing aids and cochlear implants. Despite technological advances in these assistive hearing devices, musical perception remains difficult for these people. Tests and protocols developed to assess the musical perception of this audience were the target of this systematic review, whose objective was to investigate how assessments of musical perception in people with HI are carried out. Method Searches for primary articles were carried out in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, and ASHAWire databases. Search results were managed using EndNote X9 software, and analysis was performed according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) Statement. Results The 16 cross-sectional included studies analyzed music perception data from people with HI compared to a control group of participants with normal hearing. Among these, four studies were selected to be included in a meta-analysis, performed with timbre and melody. Variability was observed in the tests and between the levels of auditory perception skills analyzed in relation to the components of music. With respect to the tests, sound stimuli generated by synthesizers were the most used stimuli; with the exception of timbre evaluation, the most frequent test environment was a booth with sound attenuation, and the average intensity for presenting sound stimuli was 70 dB SPL. The most evaluated sound component was pitch, followed by rhythm and timbre, with a pattern of responses based on adaptive and psychoacoustic methods. Conclusions The heterogeneity of the musical parameters and the auditory abilities evaluated by the tests is a fact that can compromise evidence found in this area of study. It is worth considering the quality of samples that were recorded with real musical instruments and digitized afterward, in comparison with synthesized samples that do not seem to accurately represent real instruments. The need to minimize semantic parallelism that involves the auditory skills and elements of music involved in the assessment of musical perception is highlighted.
Topics: Auditory Perception; Cochlear Implants; Cross-Sectional Studies; Hearing Loss; Humans; Music; Pitch Perception
PubMed: 33784174
DOI: 10.1044/2021_AJA-20-00146 -
European Journal of Paediatric... Jul 2021Perinatal brain injury is a significant cause of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The objective of this systematic review was to identify patterns of altered brain... (Review)
Review
Perinatal brain injury is a significant cause of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The objective of this systematic review was to identify patterns of altered brain function, quantified using functional connectivity (FC) changes in resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) data, that were associated with motor and language outcomes in individuals with a history of perinatal brain injury. A systematic search using electronic databases was conducted to identify relevant studies. A total of 10 studies were included in the systematic review, representing 260 individuals with a history of perinatal brain injury. Motor and language outcomes were measured at time points ranging from 4 months to 29 years 1 month. Relations between FC and motor measures revealed increased intra-hemispheric FC, reduced inter-hemispheric FC and impaired lateralization of motor-related brain regions associated with motor outcomes. Altered FC within sensorimotor, visual, cerebellum and frontoparietal networks, and between sensorimotor, visual, auditory and higher-order networks, including cerebellum, frontoparietal, default-mode, salience, self-referential and attentional networks were also associated with motor outcomes. In studies assessing the relationship between rs-fMRI and language outcome, reduced intra-hemispheric FC, increased inter-hemispheric FC and right-hemisphere lateralization of language-related brain regions correlated with language outcomes. Evidence from this systematic review suggests a possible association between diaschisis and motor and language impairments in individuals after perinatal brain lesions. These findings support the need to explore the contributions of additional brain regions functionally connected but remote from the primary lesioned brain area for targeted treatments and appropriate intervention, though more studies with increased standardization across neuroimaging and neurodevelopmental assessments are needed.
Topics: Brain; Brain Injuries; Brain Mapping; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neural Pathways
PubMed: 34058624
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpn.2021.05.007 -
Journal of Clinical Neuroscience :... May 2024Facial nerve hemangiomas (FNHs) are rare tumors that primarily occur near the geniculate ganglion in the temporal bone. Despite their rarity, they can cause significant... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Facial nerve hemangiomas (FNHs) are rare tumors that primarily occur near the geniculate ganglion in the temporal bone. Despite their rarity, they can cause significant facial nerve dysfunction. The optimal management approach for FNHs remains uncertain, with surgery being the mainstay but subject to debate regarding the extent of resection and preservation of the facial nerve.
METHODS
Systematic review was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We queried the PubMed/Medline (accessed on 5 March 2024) electronic database using combinations of the following search terms and words text: "geniculate ganglion hemangioma", "ganglional hemangioma", "hemangioma of the facial nerve", "facial hemangioma", and "intratemporal hemangioma".
RESULTS
We identified a total of 30 literatures (321 patients). The most common site involved for the facial nerve hemangioma was the geniculate ganglion area followed by internal auditory canal, tympanic segment, labyrinthine segment and mastoid involvement. All patients were treated with conservative management or surgery. We report a 48-year-old female patient with HB grade 2 facial palsy and hemifacial spasm underwent SRS using Cyberknife technology. The treatment targeted the FNH in the left internal acoustic canal near the geniculate ganglion. Six months post-treatment, clinical improvement was evident, and lesion control was confirmed in a follow-up brain MRI.
CONCLUSION
The rarity of FNHs contributes to the lack of consensus on optimal management. This illustrative case demonstrates the feasibility of SRS as a standalone treatment for FNHs.
PubMed: 38823231
DOI: 10.1016/j.jocn.2024.05.023 -
Frontiers in Oncology 2021Hearing loss is the most common initial symptom in patients with sporadic vestibular schwannomas (SVS). Hearing preservation is an important goal of both conservative...
OBJECTIVE
Hearing loss is the most common initial symptom in patients with sporadic vestibular schwannomas (SVS). Hearing preservation is an important goal of both conservative and surgical therapy. However, the mechanism of SVS-associated hearing loss remains unclear. Thus, we performed this systematic review to summarize the current understanding of hearing loss in the SVS and distill a testable hypothesis to further illuminate its underlying mechanism.
METHODS
A systematic review querying four databases (PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Web of Science) was performed to identify studies evaluating hearing loss in patients with SVS and exploring the potential mechanisms of hearing impairment.
RESULTS
A total of 50 articles were eligible and included in this review. After analysis, the retrieved studies could be categorized into four types: (1) 29 studies explore the relationship between hearing loss and the growth pattern of the tumor (e.g., tumor size/volume, growth rate, tumor location, .); (2) ten studies investigate the potential role of cochlear dysfunction in hearing deterioration, including structural abnormality, protein elevation in perilymph, and cochlear malfunctioning; (3) two studies looked into SVS-induced impairment of auditory pathway and cortex; (4) in the rest nine studies, researchers explored the molecular mechanism underlying hearing loss in SVS, which involves molecular and genetic alterations, inflammatory response, growth factors, and other tumor-associated secretions.
CONCLUSIONS
Multiple factors may contribute to the hearing impairment in SVS, including the growth pattern of tumor, cochlear dysfunction, impairment of auditory pathway and cortex, genetic and molecular changes. However, our current understanding is still limited, and future studies are needed to explore this multifactorial hypothesis and dig deeper into its underlying mechanism.
PubMed: 34476211
DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.687201 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Feb 2022Cortical entrainment has emerged as a promising means for measuring continuous speech processing in young, neurotypical adults. However, its utility for capturing... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Cortical entrainment has emerged as a promising means for measuring continuous speech processing in young, neurotypical adults. However, its utility for capturing atypical speech processing has not been systematically reviewed.
OBJECTIVES
Synthesize evidence regarding the merit of measuring cortical entrainment to capture atypical speech processing and recommend avenues for future research.
METHOD
We systematically reviewed publications investigating entrainment to continuous speech in populations with auditory processing differences.
RESULTS
In the 25 publications reviewed, most studies were conducted on older and/or hearing-impaired adults, for whom slow-wave entrainment to speech was often heightened compared to controls. Research conducted on populations with neurodevelopmental disorders, in whom slow-wave entrainment was often reduced, was less common. Across publications, findings highlighted associations between cortical entrainment and speech processing performance differences.
CONCLUSIONS
Measures of cortical entrainment offer a useful means of capturing speech processing differences and future research should leverage them more extensively when studying populations with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Topics: Acoustic Stimulation; Adult; Auditory Cortex; Auditory Perception; Humans; Speech; Speech Perception
PubMed: 34942267
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.029 -
Journal of Neurosurgery Oct 2023The "presigmoid corridor" covers a spectrum of approaches using the petrous temporal bone either as a target in treating intracanalicular lesions or as a route to access...
OBJECTIVE
The "presigmoid corridor" covers a spectrum of approaches using the petrous temporal bone either as a target in treating intracanalicular lesions or as a route to access the internal auditory canal (IAC), jugular foramen, or brainstem. Complex presigmoid approaches have been continuously developed and refined over the years, leading to great heterogeneity in their definitions and descriptions. Owing to the common use of the presigmoid corridor in lateral skull base surgery, a simple anatomy-based and self-explanatory classification is needed to delineate the operative perspective of the different variants of the presigmoid route. Herein, the authors conducted a scoping review of the literature with the aim of proposing a classification system for presigmoid approaches.
METHODS
The PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched from inception to December 9, 2022, following the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines to include clinical studies reporting the use of "stand-alone" presigmoid approaches. Findings were summarized based on the anatomical corridor, trajectory, and target lesions to classify the different variants of the presigmoid approach.
RESULTS
Ninety-nine clinical studies were included for analysis, and the most common target lesions were vestibular schwannomas (60/99, 60.6%) and petroclival meningiomas (12/99, 12.1%). All approaches had a common entry pathway (i.e., mastoidectomy) but were differentiated into two main categories based on their relationship to the labyrinth: translabyrinthine or anterior corridor (80/99, 80.8%) and retrolabyrinthine or posterior corridor (20/99, 20.2%). The anterior corridor comprised 5 variations based on the extent of bone resection: 1) partial translabyrinthine (5/99, 5.1%), 2) transcrusal (2/99, 2.0%), 3) translabyrinthine proper (61/99, 61.6%), 4) transotic (5/99, 5.1%), and 5) transcochlear (17/99, 17.2%). The posterior corridor consisted of 4 variations based on the target area and trajectory in relation to the IAC: 6) retrolabyrinthine inframeatal (6/99, 6.1%), 7) retrolabyrinthine transmeatal (19/99, 19.2%), 8) retrolabyrinthine suprameatal (1/99, 1.0%), and 9) retrolabyrinthine trans-Trautman's triangle (2/99, 2.0%).
CONCLUSIONS
Presigmoid approaches are becoming increasingly complex with the expansion of minimally invasive techniques. Descriptions of these approaches using the existing nomenclature can be imprecise or confusing. Therefore, the authors propose a comprehensive classification based on the operative anatomy that unequivocally describes presigmoid approaches simply, precisely, and efficiently.
Topics: Humans; Petrous Bone; Temporal Bone; Neurosurgical Procedures; Ear, Inner; Meningeal Neoplasms
PubMed: 36905661
DOI: 10.3171/2023.2.JNS222227 -
Neurological Sciences : Official... May 2021The insular cortex serves a wide variety of functions in humans, ranging from sensory and affective processing to high-level cognition. Hence, insular dysfunction may... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The insular cortex serves a wide variety of functions in humans, ranging from sensory and affective processing to high-level cognition. Hence, insular dysfunction may result in several different presentations. Ischemic strokes limited to the insular territory are rare and deserve a better characterization, to be quickly recognized and to receive the appropriate treatment (e.g. thrombolysis).
METHODS
We reviewed studies on patients with a first-ever acute stroke restricted to the insula. We searched in the Medline database the keywords "insular stroke" and "insular infarction", to identify previously published cases. Afterwards, the results were divided depending on the specific insular region affected by the stroke: anterior insular cortex (AIC), posterior insular cortex (PIC) or total insula cortex (TIC). Finally, a review of the clinical correlates associated with each region was performed.
RESULTS
We identified 25 reports including a total of 49 patients (59.7 ± 15.5 years, 48% male) from systematic review of the literature. The most common clinical phenotypes were motor and somatosensory deficits, dysarthria, aphasia and a vestibular-like syndrome. Atypical presentations were also common and included dysphagia, awareness deficits, gustatory disturbances, dysautonomia, neuropsychiatric or auditory disturbances and headache.
CONCLUSIONS
The clinical presentation of insular strokes is heterogeneous; however, an insular stroke should be suspected when vestibular-like, somatosensory, speech or language disturbances are combined in the same patient. Further studies are needed to improve our understanding of more atypical presentations.
Topics: Aphasia; Cerebral Cortex; Dysarthria; Female; Humans; Male; Speech; Stroke
PubMed: 33575921
DOI: 10.1007/s10072-021-05109-1