ear candling is an alternative medicine practice alleged to enhance general health by putting an end of a hollow candle in the ear canal and lighting up the other end of it. it also is advertised for cerumen and debris (bacteria and fungi) removal. ear candling is claimed to create negative pressure for drawing cerumen from the ear and to benefit the ears in many ways. it is however not free of...

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family cytokines are important mediators of inflammation. Elevated levels of serum TNF-α are associated with human sensorineural hearing loss via poorly understood mechanisms. We demonstrate, for the first time, expression of TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) and its signaling death receptor 5 (DR5) in the murine inner ear and show that exogenous TRAIL ca...

Phellinus linteus, a mushroom, contains constituents that exhibit potent antitumor effects through activating immune cells. Recently, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic properties of P. linteus extracts have also been implicated. In the present study, therefore, we separated the constituents of mycelium of P. linteus into five fractions-chloroform-soluble (CF), ethyl acetate-soluble (EA), meth...

The ethyl acetate extract (SsAcOEt) from Serjania schiedeana, select fractions (F-6, F-12, F-13, F-14), and one isolated compound, were evaluated in 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) ear edema and kaolin/carrageenan (KC)-induced monoarthritis assays. SsEtOAc induced edema inhibition of 90% (2.0 mg/ear), fractions showed activity within a range of 67-89%. Due to the fact F-14 showed the...

Auricular hematoma is a frequent complication of blunt trauma to the auricle. These are usually caused by sports such as boxing and wrestling. Hematoma formation is within the space between perichondrium and cartilage on the anterior ear. Because the blood supply to cartilage is dependent on the perichondrium, infection and cartilaginous necrosis often complicate untreated auricular hematomas. ...

In August 2002, we were consulted about a case in which a 70-year-old man found a long wire coming out of his left ear (Fig 1). He had a history of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, which had been treated with radiotherapy 7 years previously. Although radiotherapy had eliminated the carcinoma, it caused left temporal bone radionecrosis and temporal lobe necrosis. The patient had presented to ear, nose,...

Objective. We reported a very rare case of metastatic Crohn's disease involving the retro-auricular region. Method. A case report and a review of literature concerning metastatic Crohn's disease. Results. Metastatic Crohn's disease is an uncommon extraintestinal cutaneous manifestation of Crohn's disease and a very rare case involving the retro-auricular region is reported here. Given the limit...

Relapsing polychondritis is a rare autoimmune disease causing inflammation in cartilaginous structures and other tissues throughout the body. Negative-pressure pulmonary edema (NPPE) due to laryngeal swelling from relapsing polychondritis is rare and has not been reported. Here, we report a case of relapsing polychondritis in an 18-y-old female who presented with recurrent NPPE and acute respir...