Ear News and Research

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MRI is becoming more recognized as useful in the etiological investigation of sudden deafness

For the patient, sudden deafness can be terrifying. For the specialist, this disorder can be most challenging for the cause of sudden deafness cannot be readily determined by use of the most advanced diagnostic tests.

17 Sep 2004

Strep A is showing up in increased numbers of head and neck abscesses

Head and neck abscesses are infrequent complications of upper respiratory infections, but they can occur suddenly and be rapidly progressive. If untreated, the abscesses can lead to airway obstruction, vision loss, intracranial infections, and even death.

17 Sep 2004

Knowing which treatments work and which don't is an important first step in improving children's health care, but it's not enough

University of South Florida pediatrician Dr. Lisa Simpson says she knew enough to ignore a physician’s recommendation that treating repeated ear infections with ear tubes was important to her son’s eventual speech and language outcomes.

14 Sep 2004

Treatment with vitamin A and an omega-3 fatty acid slows down the progression of retinitis pigmentosa

Patients with retinitis pigmentosa, a progressive eye disease that can cause vision loss, who were treated with vitamin A and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a kind of omega-3 fatty acid, did not experience slowing of the progression of their disease

12 Sep 2004

New research into stimulus-related ear differences from birth may provide improved methods for newborn hearing tests

Researchers have known since the 1950s that humans process speech and tone sounds in different sides of the brain.

10 Sep 2004

Pneumococcal vaccine reduces the incidence of middle ear infection and pneumonia

Infection with Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria can cause serious illness and death. Invasive pneumococcal disease is responsible for about 200 deaths each year among children under 5 years old.

8 Sep 2004

Mouse stem cells may help restore hearing loss in humans

The work is important because, in humans, inner ear sensory hair cells are a precious commodity. Humans are born with only about sixteen thousand of these sound detectors in each ear, which can be easily damaged by age, certain illnesses, exposure to loud sounds, and some medications. Once damaged, the cells do not easily grow back. And with the cell loss comes so-called irreversible hearing loss.

26 Aug 2004

Revamped competitive strategies a must to sustain growth in the mature European wound closure markets

Growing emphasis on reducing hospital expenditure and drastic reductions in healthcare budgets are affecting the prices of various wound closure products (such as sutures, mechanical closure devices, wound strips and skin adhesives) across Europe.

24 Aug 2004

Body symmetry could be a tell tale sign of an aggressive person

Researchers may get some indication of how aggressively an angry person will react by measuring the size relationship between a person’s ears and other body parts, according to a new study.

23 Aug 2004

Gene variant that is a major contributor to cleft lip

An international team of researchers has identified a gene variant that is a major contributor to oral clefts and triples the risk of recurrence in affected families, it was reported today in The New England Journal of Medicine.

18 Aug 2004

Researchers to conduct a series of studies on human circulation

Penn State College of Medicine researchers recently were awarded a five-year, $7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to conduct a series of studies on human circulation.

18 Aug 2004

As the saying goes “breast milk is best”

As the saying goes “breast milk is best,” and more than 85 percent of new moms who give birth at the University of Michigan Health System agree and continue to breastfeed their new bundle of joy, on average, for the first six months.

3 Aug 2004

The inner ear functions like ‘an underwater piano’ – highly tuned despite being immersed in water

Their paper, in the respected Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, provides a new understanding of how our delicate sense of hearing might work, explaining why most human ears continuously emit soft, pure tones that can be picked up with a microphone placed in the outer ear.

2 Aug 2004

Research to develop ways to inhibit head and neck cancers, the fifth most common cancer worldwide

A University of Queensland researcher has been awarded $850,000 by one of Australia’s largest private, charitable, medical foundations to develop ways to inhibit head and neck cancers, the fifth most common cancer worldwide.

29 Jul 2004

Key to detecting Asperger’s syndrome, a milder yet little-understood form of autism, lies in analyzing infants’ movements

Home videos of infants' movements can be used to help detect a form of autism in a child’s first year of life, years earlier than the disorder typically is identified, University of Florida researchers have discovered.

29 Jul 2004

Simple treatment for vertigo at home

People with vertigo can get relief by doing maneuvers at home, according to a study published in the July 13 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

13 Jul 2004

Renowned Chinese surgeon who revealed the SARS cover-up last year is reported to be undergoing brainwashing

Jiang Yanyong a renowned Chinese surgeon who revealed the enormity of the Chinese SARS cover-up last year is reported to be undergoing brainwashing enforced upon him by Chinese Government officials.

6 Jul 2004

M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is ranked the nation’s top cancer hospital in U.S.

For the third consecutive year and fourth time in five years, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is ranked the nation’s top cancer hospital in U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” survey, published in the magazine’s July 12 issue.

4 Jul 2004

Secondhand smoke increases the risk of heart disease among non-smokers by as much as 60 percent

Exposure to secondhand smoke is even more dangerous than previously thought and increases the risk of heart disease among non-smokers by as much as 60 percent.

2 Jul 2004

Omega-3's - fatty acids, can be produced in bioengineered plants

Long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFAs) have benefits regarding cardiovascular and inflammatory function, certain types of cancer, and maternal and infant health, according to recent peer-reviewed studies.