PURPOSE To describe the steady-state free-precession MR sequence and its application to the study of the inner ear. METHOD The inner ear was imaged with CT and a 0.5-T MR unit in three dimension, to evaluate the various signals from the lumen of the labyrinth. RESULTS Normally, the signal from the perilymphatic and endolymphatic spaces is homogeneous. However, among our cases of neurosensor...

Bacteriophage display of antibodies provides a method for the generation of immunological reagents against rare and uncharacterized antigens. To ascertain the usefulness of this approach for the characterization of inner-ear proteins, we produced a bacteriophage-displayed antibody-fragment library directed against proteins from the bullfrog's sacculus. This library was probed for bacteriophage ...

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss may be present as a symptom in systemic autoimmune diseases or may occur as a primary disorder without another organ involvement (autoimmune inner ear disease). The diagnosis of autoimmune inner ear disease is still predicated on clinical features, and to date specific diagnostic tests are not available. We report a case of bilateral sudden hearing loss, tinnit...

Sensorineural hearing loss of immune-mediated origin may be present as a symptom in systemic autoimmune diseases or may occur as a primary disorder without other organ involvement (auto-immune inner ear disease). The diagnosis of auto-immune inner ear disease is still predicated on clinical features and to date specific diagnostic tests are not available. We report a case of right-sided sudden ...

Recent advances in medical neurotology, basic science, and clinical investigations have greatly increased our understanding and ability to manage patients with disorders of the inner ear. The field is becoming more focused on the molecular biology of the inner ear to refine our understanding and the differential diagnoses of multilevel disorders. The time will come for us to utilize some novel ...

How asymmetries in motor behavior become established normally or atypically in mammals remains unclear. An established model for motor asymmetry that is conserved across mammals can be obtained by experimentally inducing asymmetric striatal dopamine activity. However, the factors that can cause motor asymmetries in the absence of experimental manipulations to the brain remain unknown. Here, we ...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS To assess the hearing status of trisomy 21 patients by analyzing electrophysiological and radiological findings of any correlation between hearing impairment and major or minor inner ear malformations. STUDY DESIGN Prospective radiological and electrophysiological study. METHODS A group of 34 ears of Down syndrome subjects and 20 ears of a volunteer age- and sex-matche...

Auditory and vestibular functions in vertebrates depend on the transduction of sound vibration or head acceleration into electrical responses in inner ear hair cells. Mechanoelectrical transduction occurs at the tip of stereocilia, which are polarized to form an orientational arrangement that determines directional sensitivity. It remains to be clarified when and how premature hair cells acquir...