Tympanic membrane findings and Eustachian tube function after transtympanic plugging for the chronic patulous Eustachian tube.

Objective: To evaluate Eustachian tube (ET) function after Kobayashi plug surgery based on the tympanic membrane (TM) findings and active opening (AO) of the ET assessed with sonotubometry.

Subjects And Methods: A retrospective survey of medical records identified 74 ears of 66 patients with patulous ET (PET) received transtympanic insertion of the Kobayashi plug. Excluding the six ears (6 patients) with abnormal preoperative TM, sixty-eight ears of 60 patients were found to have normal TM preoperatively.

Enlargement of Eustachian Tube Lumen in Patulous Eustachian Tube Patients Compared to that by Aging.

Objective: To evaluate the Eustachian tube (ET) dimensions in patulous ET (PET) patients compared with that by aging using sitting 3D computed tomography (CT).

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Hearing Outcomes of Transmastoid Plugging for Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome by Underwater Endoscopic Surgery: With Special Reference to Transient Bone Conduction Increase in Early Postoperative Period.

Objective: To investigate the influence on hearing of transmastoid plugging of the superior semicircular canal accompanied with membranous superior canal transection by underwater endoscopic ear surgery (UWEES) for the superior semicircular canal dehiscence syndrome.

Study Design: Retrospective case review.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Underwater Endoscopic Ear Surgery for Closure of Cholesteatomatous Labyrinthine Fistula With Preservation of Auditory Function.

Objective: To analyze the outcomes of the underwater endoscopic ear surgery (UWEES) technique for closure of cholesteatomatous labyrinthine fistula (LF) with preservation of auditory function.

Study Design: Retrospective case review study.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Patulous Eustachian Tube Patients With Respiratory Fluctuation of Tympanic Membrane in Both Sitting and Supine Positions: A Sign of Severity of Disease?

Objective: The aim is to report four cases of patulous Eustachian tube (PET) patients with respiratory fluctuation of the tympanic membrane (TM) even in the supine position, and to examine the frequency and characteristics of such patients.

Patients: There were 195 ears (99 right ears and 96 left ears) from 146 cases (56 male and 90 female subjects aged 8-88, average 48.0 ± 18.

Objective assessment of autophony during phonation in the diagnosis of patulous Eustachian tube patients.

Objective: A system enabling the objective assessment of the transmission of voice sounds to the external auditory canal (EAC) during phonation has recently been revised. Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of this new system in the diagnosis of patulous Eustachian tube (PET) patients by comparing the results obtained using this method with those obtained from conventional objective tests to diagnose PET.

Methods: A prospective survey of medical records was included with definite PET, possible PET, and sensorineural hearing loss as control.

Pulsatile tinnitus caused by pneumocephalus after Janneta surgery.

Pulsatile tinnitus of nonvascular origin is rare. We herein present a case of pulsatile tinnitus complicated with Jannetta surgery due to a communication created between the drilled mastoid cells and epidural space. She was successfully cured by otological surgery where the mastoid tip was packed with bone cement.

The characteristic of patulous eustachian tube patients diagnosed by the JOS diagnostic criteria.

Objective: The objective is to describe characteristics of patients diagnosed with patulous Eustachian tube (PET) using the Diagnostic Criteria proposed by Japan Otological Society, and to evaluate the efficiency of objective tests to determine patent Eustachian tube.

Study Design: Retrospective.

Setting: Tertiary referral center.

Plug size selection protocol for the treatment of intractable patulous Eustachian tube with Kobayashi Plug.

: There have been no useful criteria for initial plug size selection protocol for the treatment of intractable patulous Eustachian tube (PET). : To establish a method for appropriate plug size selection using tubal function test and subjective symptom severity in PET patients who were treated by Kobayashi Plug insertion. : A retrospective survey of medical records identified 39 ears of 35 patients with PET who received insertion of the Kobayashi Plug and whose PET symptoms were thereafter controlled for at least 6 months after surgery.

Spike timing-dependent selective strengthening of single climbing fibre inputs to Purkinje cells during cerebellar development.

Shaping functional neural circuits in developing brain involves activity-dependent refinement of early-formed redundant synapses. In the developing cerebellum, a one-to-one connection between a climbing fibre (CF) and a Purkinje cell (PC) is established by selective strengthening of a single CF followed by elimination of surplus CFs. Here we investigate developmental changes in CF-mediated responses in PCs by using in vivo whole-cell recordings and two-photon Ca(2+) imaging.

The CB1 cannabinoid receptor is the major cannabinoid receptor at excitatory presynaptic sites in the hippocampus and cerebellum.

Endocannabinoids work as retrograde messengers and contribute to short-term and long-term modulation of synaptic transmission via presynaptic cannabinoid receptors. It is generally accepted that the CB1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1) mediates the effects of endocannabinoid in inhibitory synapses. For excitatory synapses, however, contributions of CB1, "CB3," and some other unidentified receptors have been suggested.

Adenosine A(1)-receptor-mediated tonic inhibition of glutamate release at rat hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses is primarily due to inhibition of N-type Ca(2+) channels.

The voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels responsible for synaptic transmission at CA3-CA1 synapses are mainly P/Q- and N-types. It has been shown that tonic inhibition of transmission due to activation of adenosine A(1) receptors occurs at this synapse. We have recently developed a technique to monitor synaptically released glutamate which is based on synaptically induced glial depolarisation.

Glutamate release increases during mossy-CA3 LTP but not during Schaffer-CA1 LTP.

Abstract It is still a matter of dispute whether the expression of hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) is due to enhanced transmitter release or enhanced postsynaptic sensitivity. Recently we developed a novel method to monitor synaptically released glutamate. In this method, brain slice preparations are stained with a voltage-sensitive dye RH155 which preferentially stains glial cells, and synaptically induced glial depolarization (SIGD) are optically detected in the presence of the blockers for ionotropic glutamate receptors.

Optical bioimaging: from living tissue to a single molecule: optical detection of synaptically induced glutamate transporter activity in hippocampal slices.

Since voltage-sensitive dyes (VSDs) change their optical properties in response to membrane potential changes, non-invasive optical measurements of membrane excitation using VSDs have been applied to various types of excitable tissue. This article deals with the authors' recent work using this technique in addition to basic and technical information about VSD imaging. By applying this technology to hippocampal brain slices, we have found that astrocytes play indispensable roles in sequestering glutamate, maintenance of synaptic transmission, and neuronal survival.