Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) in response to sound stimulation (500 Hz tone burst, 129 dB SPL) were studied in 1000 consecutive patients. VEMP from the ear with the larger amplitude were evaluated based on the assumption that the majority of the tested patients probably had normal vestibular function in that ear. Patients with known bilateral conductive hearing loss, with known bilateral vestibular disease and those with Tullio phenomenon were not included in the evaluation. It was found that there was an age-related decrease in VEMP amplitude and an increase in VEMP latency that appeared to be rather constant throughout the whole age span. The VEMP data were also compared to an additional group of 10 patients with Tullio phenomenon. Although these 10 patients did have rather large VEMP, equally large VEMP amplitudes were observed in a proportion of unaffected subjects of a similar age group. Thus, the finding of a large VEMP amplitude in response to a high-intensity sound stimulation is not, per se, distinctive for a significant vestibular hypersensitivity to sounds.

Paclitaxel is a potent inhibitor of SMC proliferation, SMC migration, and extracellular matrix formation in vitro, with all three phases of the restenosis process inhibited effectively.

Mast cells are involved in allergic and other inflammatory diseases. The polyphenol resveratrol is known for its anti-inflammatory properties and may be used as nutraceutical in mast cell associated diseases. We analyzed the effect of resveratrol on mast cells in vivo in ovalbumin-induced allergic enteritis as well as experimental colitis in IL-10−/− mice which received resveratrol via drinking water. Treatment with resveratrol prevented the increase in mast cells in both allergic enteritis and chronic colitis in duodenum as well as in colon. Further, it delayed the onset of diseases symptoms and ameliorated diseases associated parameters such as tissue damage as well as inflammatory cell infiltration in affected colon sections. In addition to the findings in vivo, resveratrol inhibited IgE-dependent degranulation and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α in IgE/DNP-activated as well as in LPS-activated bone marrow-derived mast cells. These results indicate that resveratrol may be considered as an anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory plant-derived component for the prevention or treatment of mast cell-associated disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

Depending on the dose applied, incubation with dexamethasone results in a significant growth reduction of cultured haSMC, which may be due to a drug induced G1-phase block. Dexamethasone also reduces the clonogenic activity as well as the migratory ability of cultured haSMC.