Balance Disorders News and Research

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A balance disorder is a disturbance that causes an individual to feel unsteady, giddy, woozy, or have a sensation of movement, spinning, or floating. An organ in our inner ear, the labyrinth, is an important part of our vestibular (balance) system. The labyrinth interacts with other systems in the body, such as the visual (eyes) and skeletal (bones and joints) systems, to maintain the body's position. These systems, along with the brain and the nervous system, can be the source of balance problems.

UH Case Medical Center implants new type of cochlear device in patients with hearing problem

University Hospitals Case Medical Center is the first in Cleveland to implant a new type of cochlear device for adults who have lost the high frequency range of their hearing, but have retained the low frequencies with or without a hearing aid.

7 Aug 2014

GenVec's revenues decrease 61% to $3.7M in fourth quarter 2013

GenVec, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2013. For the year ended December 31, 2013, the company reported a net loss of $10.0 million, or $0.77 per share, compared with a net loss of $14.1 million, or $1.09 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2012.

28 Mar 2014

Vestibular system is critical for optimizing head and eye movements

Neurologists at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich have studied the role of the vestibular system, which controls balance, in optimizing how we direct our gaze. The results could lead to more effective rehabilitation of patients with vestibular or cerebellar dysfunction.

25 Mar 2014

MRI magnetic fields may diagnose, treat balance disorders and dizziness, say researchers

Expanding on earlier research, Johns Hopkins researchers report that people with balance disorders or dizziness traceable to an inner-ear disturbance show distinctive abnormal eye movements when the affected ear is exposed to the strong pull of an MRI’s magnetic field.

20 Mar 2014

Surgeons perform first auditory brainstem implant operation in Northeast Ohio

Surgeons at University Hospitals Case Medical Center have completed the first auditory brainstem implant (ABI) operation in Northeast Ohio on a woman who has lost most of her hearing due to benign tumors on her auditory nerves.

17 Mar 2014

GenVec achieves third milestone for development of treatments for hearing and balance disorderstion

GenVec, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNVC) today announced that the company has achieved the third milestone in its collaboration with Novartis for the development of treatments for hearing and balance disorders.

13 Feb 2014

Doctors receive €3.5M European Union funding to diagnose, treat balance disorders

GPs and other doctors will be equipped with a new, online information system to help diagnose and treat a range of balance disorders, thanks to €3.5m European Union funding for EMBalance.

12 Feb 2014

Research opens door to better understanding of inner-ear development process, potential treatments

Indiana University scientists have transformed mouse embryonic stem cells into key structures of the inner ear. The discovery provides new insights into the sensory organ's developmental process and sets the stage for laboratory models of disease, drug discovery and potential treatments for hearing loss and balance disorders.

12 Jul 2013

NIH awards Shared Instrumentation Grant to install 3D X-ray microscope at Creighton University

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have awarded Mohammed Akhter, Ph.D., P.E., professor of medicine at Creighton University School of Medicine and director of the biomechanics laboratory at the Osteoporosis Research Center, a nearly $600,000 Shared Instrumentation Grant to install the area's first high-resolution 3D X-ray Microscope, the Xradia MicroXCT-200.

11 Jul 2013

New study tests vestibular prosthesis to help restore balance for people with Meniere's disease

Many disorders of the inner hear which affect both hearing and balance can be hugely debilitating and are currently largely incurable. Cochlear implants have been used for many years to replace lost hearing resulting from inner ear damage.

14 Jun 2013

Study could open up new possibilities for early diagnosis of motor disorders

The scientists report these findings in the current online edition of "The Lancet Neurology". This pan-European study could open up new possibilities of early diagnosis and smooth the way for treatments which tackle diseases before the patient's nervous system is irreparably damaged.

24 May 2013

Study explores views, beliefs about triggers of Meniere's disease symptoms

A report in one of the last issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics addresses the physical and psychological triggers for attacks in Meniere's disease.

4 Apr 2013

AHRF to present free symposium on dizziness and balance disorders

The American Hearing Research Foundation will present a free, day-long educational symposium on dizziness and balance disorders on Saturday, April 6 at the Hilton Suites Chicago/Oakbrook in Oakbrook, Illinois.

27 Feb 2013

New understanding of how noise can break critical tip link protein structure in inner ear cells

Researchers have mapped the precise 3-D atomic structure of a thin protein filament critical for cells in the inner ear and calculated the force necessary to pull it apart.

8 Nov 2012

Balance abnormalities can exacerbate asthma symptoms

Asthma patients could be at a higher risk of worsening symptoms due to problems with their balance, according to new research.

1 Sep 2012

Preventing falls in older people through balance and strength training

Balance and strength training that is integrated into everyday activities can reduce the number of falls among older people by almost a third, finds a study published on bmj.com today.

8 Aug 2012

Exercise-based treatment effective in treating persistent dizziness

A professor from the University of Southampton has called on doctors around the world to give patients with persistent dizziness a booklet of simple exercises, after new research has shown that it is a very cost effective treatment for common causes of the condition.

5 Jul 2012

Study describes how seizures in people with AS could be linked to brain cell activity imbalance

New research by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine may have pinpointed an underlying cause of the seizures that affect 90 percent of people with Angelman syndrome (AS), a neurodevelopmental disorder.

7 Jun 2012

GenVec receives NIAID’s Phase I SBIR grant to support RSV vaccine program

GenVec, Inc. announced today that it has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the Company's Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine program.

4 May 2012

PloS ONE publishes research on GenVec's new vaccine vectors

GenVec, Inc. announced publication of research on GenVec's new vaccine vectors. These vectors circumvent neutralizing antibodies in order to generate the desired immunologic response.

7 Apr 2012