utricular

PURPOSE: To elucidate the induced effects of horizontal strabismus on the Bielschowsky Head Tilt Test (BHTT). DESIGN: Prospective clinical study. METHODS: Prospective analysis of BHTT testing in 85 patients with exotropia and 71 patients with esotropia who were examined in a strabismus clinic. RESULTS: Eighty-four of 85 patients with exotropia (98.82%) showed a positive BHTT with an induced hyperdeviation on the side of the tilt (to both sides in 67% and to one side in 32%)...

Midline prostatic cysts are infrequent and mostly asymptomatic. We presented a striking case of a giant midline cyst and detailed its diagnosis, evolution, and treatment. From this case, we offered a comparison of congenital intraprostatic midline cysts, namely, Müller's cysts and utricle cysts. A 40-year-old male experienced recurrent urinary retention. A 10 × 11 mm2 cyst in the mid-prostatic region was diagnosed through transrectal ultrasound, leading to a transperineal puncture as a minimally invasive intervention...

BACKGROUND: Posterior expansion of the utricular endolymphatic space (ES) is a finding occasionally observed, and often occurs in bilateral ears. The clinical significance of posterior expansion of the utricular ES is not clear. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the clinical significance of posterior expansion of the utricular ES detected on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Among 957 patients who underwent contrast-enhanced MRI to investigate the presence of endolymphatic hydrops (EH), clinical findings in cases with posterior expansion of the utricular ES were evaluated and the significance of their existence is considered...

INTRODUCTION: Spatial navigation, the ability to move through one's environment, is a complex skill utilized in everyday life. The effects of specific vestibular end-organ deficits and hearing impairments on spatial navigation have received little to no attention. We hypothesized that hearing impairment adversely affects spatial navigation and that bi-modal impairments (vestibular and hearing) further impair navigation ability. METHODS: Data from 182 participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging who had interpretable results for the video head impulse test (vHIT), cervical (cVEMP) and ocular (oVEMP) vestibular evoked myogenic potentials, audiometric testing, and the triangle completion test (TCT) were retrospectively analyzed...

The garfish Belone belone represents the only valid endemic Belone species for the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It shows a wide global distribution range, with a high commercial value and ecological relevance in the pelagic domain. Despite this, there needs to be more knowledge regarding the otoliths of this species, with the total absence of descriptions regarding asterisci and lapilli from Mediterranean populations and a lack of studies on the reliability of shape analysis on its sagittae...

BACKGROUND: Constructive interference in steady state (CISS) is a gradient echo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) pulse sequence that provides excellent contrast between cerebrospinal fluid and adjacent structures but is prone to banding artifacts due to magnetic field inhomogeneities. We aimed to characterize artifacts in the inner ear and eye. METHODS: In 30 patients (60 ears/eyes) undergoing CISS sequence MRI, nine low-signal intensity regions were identified in the inner ear and compared to temporal bone histopathology...

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: This study correlated stage of Meniere's disease (MD) with MR imaging of endolymphatic hydrops (EH) to assess the role of MD staging in modern era. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. METHODS: Fifty-four MD patients (60 ears) underwent an inner ear test battery and were further confirmed by MR imaging. Sixty MD ears were divided into stages I-IV, and hydrops MR images at each stage were compared. RESULTS: Hydrops MRI demonstrated that EH at the cochlea with respective Grades 0/I/II were 3/7/1 ears for stage I, 0/5/3 ears for stage II, 1/6/26 ears for stage III and 0/2/6 ears for stage IV...

BACKGROUND: During development, planes of cells give rise to complex tissues and organs. The proper functioning of some cell types is critically dependent on proper inter- and intracellular spatial orientation in regards to the overall tissue, a feature known as planar cell polarity (PCP). To study the genetic and environmental factors affecting planar cell polarity investigators must manually measure cell orientations, which is a time-consuming endeavor. METHODOLOGY: To automate cell counting and planar cell polarity data collection we developed a Fiji/ImageJ plug-in called Planar Cell Polarity Auto Count (PCPA) to analyze binary images and identify "chunks" of white pixels that contain "caves" of infiltrated black pixels...

In amniotes, head motions and tilt are detected by two types of vestibular hair cells (HCs) with strikingly different morphology and physiology. Mature type I HCs express a large and very unusual potassium conductance, g K,L , which activates negative to resting potential, confers very negative resting potentials and low input resistances, and enhances an unusual non-quantal transmission from type I cells onto their calyceal afferent terminals. Following clues pointing to K V 1.8 (KCNA10) in the Shaker K channel family as a candidate g K,L subunit, we compared whole-cell voltage-dependent currents from utricular hair cells of K V 1...

A graviceptive heavy posterior cupula typically results from cupulolithiasis and clinically manifests as short vertigo spells when the head moves in the provocative position. Half-Hallpike test (HHT) in posterior cupulolithiasis (PSC-BPPV- cu ) elicits an upbeating ipsitorsional nystagmus (UBITN), which lasts more than a minute as per the consensus criteria developed by the Barany Society. In the last decade, cases with canalolithiasis in the short arm of the posterior semicircular canal (PSC-BPPV- sa ), wherein the otoconial debris falls on the utricular side of the posterior cupula on getting up from supine, rendering it heavy (graviceptive), have been reported...

Both auditory and vestibular primary afferent neurons can be activated by sound and vibration. This review relates the differences between them to the different receptor/synaptic mechanisms of the two systems, as shown by indicators of peripheral function-cochlear and vestibular compound action potentials (cCAPs and vCAPs)-to click stimulation as recorded in animal studies. Sound- and vibration-sensitive type 1 receptors at the striola of the utricular macula are enveloped by the unique calyx afferent ending, which has three modes of synaptic transmission...

PURPOSE: Assess otolith and canal involvement in patients with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) during the acute phase. METHODS: Ninety patients with BPPV in the acute phase underwent a vestibular assessment that included an assessment with videonistagmography, video Head Impulse Test (vHIT) to evaluate horizontal and vertical semicircular canals, and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs) for the otolithic function. RESULTS: Ninety patients had an involvement of the posterior canal, fifty-five out of ninety patients presented a BPPV of the right ear...

OBJECTIVE: Several studies have investigated the efficacy of VEMP (vestibular evoked myogenic potential) in patients with vestibular disorders and BPPV (benign paroxysmal positional vertigo). However, previous data were inconclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the difference in latency, amplitude P1-N1, asymmetry ratio (AR), and cervical/ocular-VEMP values between BPPV patients and healthy controls. METHODS: 125 healthy subjects and 42 BPPV patients were prospectively enrolled in the study...

OBJECTIVE: The reasons for short-term, incomplete recovery of some acute low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (ALFHL) are unclear. We investigated the impact of endolymphatic hydrops and semicircular canal dysfunction on the incomplete recovery of ALFHL. METHODS: The impact of electrocochleography (EcochG), caloric test, video head impulse test (vHIT), cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP), and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) results on the incomplete recovery of 86 patients with ALFHL was analyzed...

In mammals, spatial orientation is synaptically-encoded by sensory hair cells of the vestibular labyrinth. Vestibular hair cells (VHCs) harbor synaptic ribbons at their presynaptic active zones (AZs), which play a critical role in molecular scaffolding and facilitate synaptic release and vesicular replenishment. With advancing age, the prevalence of vestibular deficits increases; yet, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood and the possible accompanying morphological changes in the VHC synapses have not yet been systematically examined...

The cerebellum plays a critical role in the modulation of vestibular reflexes, dependent on input from proprioceptive afferents. The mechanism of this cerebellar control is not well understood. In a sample of 11 healthy human subjects, we investigated the effects of head orientation on ocular, cervical, postural and cerebellar short latency potentials evoked by impulsive stimuli applied at both mastoids and midline skull sites. Subjects were instructed to lean backwards with the head positioned straight ahead or held rotated in different degrees of yaw towards the right and left sides...

Marsupials are born very immature yet must be sufficiently autonomous to crawl on the mother's belly, find a teat and attach to it to pursue their development. Sensory inputs are necessary to guide the newborn to a teat and induce attachment. The vestibular system, which perceives gravity and head movements, is one of the senses proposed to guide newborns towards the teats but there are conflicting observations about its functionality at birth (postnatal day (P) 0). To test if the vestibular system of opossum newborns is functional and can influence locomotion, we used two approaches...

INTRODUCTION: Postimplantation dizziness is common, affecting approximately 50% of patients. Theories for dizziness include utricular inflammation, endolymphatic hydrops, and loss of perilymph. Four-point impedance (4PI) is a novel impedance measurement in cochlear implantation that shows potential to predict hearing loss, inflammation, and fibrotic tissue response. Here, we associate 4PI with dizziness after implantation and explore the link with utricular function. METHODS: Subjective visual vertical (SVV) as a measure of utricular function was recorded preoperatively as a baseline...

To examine mechanisms responsible for vestibular afferent sensitivity to transient bone conducted vibration, we performed simultaneous measurements of stimulus-evoked vestibular compound action potentials (vCAPs), utricular macula velocity, and vestibular microphonics (VMs) in anaesthetized guinea pigs. Results provide new insights into the kinematic variables of transient motion responsible for triggering mammalian vCAPs, revealing synchronized vestibular afferent responses are not universally sensitive to linear jerk as previously thought...

Patients with SLC26A4 mutations exhibit highly variable hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction. Although Slc26a4 mutant mice similarly exhibit vestibular deficits, including circling behavior, head tilting, and torticollis, the underlying pathogenesis of the vestibular symptoms remains unclear, hindering its effective management for patients with SLC26A4 mutations. In this study, we evaluated the equilibrium function using the inspection equipment, which can record eye movements against rotational, gravitational, and thermal stimulations...