Search

Purpose: To examine postural control in muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) before and after a specific speech rehabilitation program. Methods: Twenty-six patients diagnosed with MTD underwent posturographic analysis before and after speech rehabilitation. Romberg test was performed with eyes open (EO), eyes closed (EC) and during the head retroflex (ECR) and the occlusal (ECO) tests to investigate the role of cervical and stomatognathic proprioception. The analyzed posturographic parameters were the Sway area (S), length (L) of the center of pressure (CP) oscillations, coordinates of the CP on frontal and sagittal plane, stomatognathic interference index (SSI) and cervical interference index (CSI). Considered parameters of microphone perturbation were the Jitter (JITT), Shimmer (SHIM) and noise to harmonic ratio (NHR). Results: Sixteen patients (61.5%) exhibited values above those expected for at least one of the posturographic parameters during one or more of the conditions with eyes closed. There were values outside the normal range in the Sway area under EC and ECR conditions, and in the coordinates of the center of pressure on the sagittal plane posteriorly under EC conditions. Highly destabilizing SSI was recorded in six of the patients (23%), while CSI was recorded in 18 (69.2%). After rehabilitation, seven patients continued to show posturographic alterations. There was a statistically significant improvement of all previous altered posturographic parameters. Eight patients whose S parameters had returned to the normal range after speech therapy, also showed significant improvement of all microphone signal parameters. Conclusion: This study shows that MTD might interfere with global postural strategy through the involvement of all cervical muscles proprioception. The strong correlation between the improvement of vocal and postural control, suggests that a posturographic study may be useful in the planning of the speech therapy, as well as in the evaluation of its effectiveness in terms of muscle relaxation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conclusion: Local Capsicum oleous nasal spray, 4 µg/puff three times a day for 3 consecutive days, is an efficacious and safe treatment for idiopathic rhinitis (IR). Furthermore, being a natural product, Capsicum oleous nasal spray may be readily available for patients. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of different therapeutic regimens of Capsicum oleous nasal spray in IR. Patients and methods: A total of 208 patients affected by IR were enrolled in a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Diagnosis of IR was made on the basis of history of nasal obstruction, sneezing and/or rhinorrhoea and after exclusion of other nasal/paranasal anatomic disorders. IR patients were randomized into four groups (groups A, B, and C) receiving increasing doses of Capsicum (1, 2 or 4 µg/puff, respectively) and one group (group D) treated with placebo. Capsicum oleous nasal spray, one puff per nostril, was instilled three times a day at 30 min intervals for 3 consecutive days. Pre- and post-treatment nasal symptoms were evaluated with a daily record chart. Results: A significant reduction in the frequency of IR symptom was noticed in group C (4 µg/puff, three times a day for 3 consecutive days) vs controls (p=0.003). No significant difference in side effects was recorded in patients receiving Capsicum therapy with respect to controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conclusion. Logon is superior to click to trigger larger and more consistent vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs). Objectives. To record and compare the parameters of VEMPs evoked by bone- and air-conducted logon (l-VEMPs) and click (c-VEMPs). Subjects and methods. Air- and bone-conducted l-VEMPs and c-VEMPs were recorded in 28 normal ears with an Amplaid MK12 (Amplaid, Milan) equipment. Results. VEMPs response rate was 100% with both air-conducted logon and click, while l-VEMPs showed a higher response rate (79%) in comparison with c-VEMPs (21%) with bone-conducted stimuli. A significant (p<0.05) increase of P1, N1 and P1-N1 amplitude and augmented P1 and N1 latencies were noticed in l-VEMPs with respect to c-VEMPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conclusion . Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients present with both conductive and sensorineural deafness. Objective . To evaluate the prevalence and features of hearing impairment in patients with RA. Material and methods . A total of 28 RA patients underwent a rheumatological evaluation, including determination of rheumatoid factor, protein 2-glycoprotein I level and the Lee index. An audiological assessment consisting of pure-tone audiometry (PTA) and determination of auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) was performed. The results were compared with those of 28 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. Four selected RA patients underwent stapedectomy; PTA and TEOAEs were evaluated 6 months postoperatively. Results . Increased air conduction thresholds at 250, 500 and 1000 Hz were found in RA subjects in comparison to controls ( p [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital agenesis of the parotid gland is a rare entity whose etiopathogenesis is still unclear. It is usually bilateral and is sometimes associated with other developmental anomalies of the head and neck region. A case is presented in which aplasia of the right parotid gland was associated with an omolateral angioma of the cheek. The radiological diagnostic approach and a review of the literature on agenesis of the salivary glands are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor about renal failure due to otoacoustic emission.

Presents a letter to the editor commenting on an article about rheumatoid arthritis.

A letter to the editor that discusses the early diagnosis of otosclerosis and the possible role of vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials is presented.