Cases of hearing loss is still haunting the world's citizens.According to estimates by the UN World Health Organization (World Health Organization / WHO) in 2005 there were 278 million patient-ngaran pende disorder and approximately 75-140 million people were concentrated in Southeast Asia. However, some happy news again reported by the scientists.
Researchers recently have found a number of ways to cure chronic disease that attacks the senses of hearing, the ears buzzing, or better known as tinnitus. The use of techniques to stimulate nerve cells in the neck and make the game sound to repeat from the beginning of the system (reboot) in the brain shown to reduce the occurrence of this disorder.
The study itself was published on Wednesday (12 / 1). Until now I have found no cure for tinnitus. This is of course annoying and disturbing about 23 million adults in the United States, including one in 10 sufferers are parents and 40 percent of them berasaldari among military veterans.
As also experienced Chepko Gloria, 66, who has suffered four years old tinnitussejak. He described the sound buzzing in his ears like the sound of crickets, but also similar to the sound of the bell.His voice was getting loud when he was hit by fatigue. "It's horrible," said Chepko.
"Sometimes extremely loud. His voice was getting louder if I under pressure or go out for a very long time and I'm tired, "he says. "If my mind is tired and I sat alone, I only hear the sound (on ear) this," he said as quoted by AFP.
For some people, such as military veterans who are always exposed to loud sounds from loud explosions and gunfire streak also other types of noise, which can also be heard as the voice roaring, whirring, or clicking, it will interfere with their ability to lead a normal life like everyone else.
Economists say, The U.S. Veterans Administration spends $ 1 billion per year on the financing of disability associated with disease tinnitus, where the disease is most widely associated with the services most commonly by a soldier who had returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Scientists believe that the disorder is caused by hearing loss or nerve damage, in which the brain tries to overcome them but failed to adjust.
"Changes in brain systems in dealing with nerve damage or trauma to the cochlea causes the irregular nerve activity, which is believed responsible for causing various types of chronic pain and tinnitus," said Michael Kilgard of the University of Texas, co-author of recent study in the journal Nature.
"We believe that part of the brain that function to process a voice that is auditory cortex (auditory cortex) neurons delegating too much for some frequencies, and finally disruption began to happen," he said.
To repair the damage, the researchers used mice to test a theory that they can reset the brain by retraining so that the neurons that deviate back to normal. In mice suffering from tinnitus, electrical nodes stimulate the vagus nerve, which runs from the head through the neck to the abdomen, in combination with high-pitched tone plays. When stimulated, the nerve can lead to changes in the brain by releasing chemicals such as acetylcholine and norepinephrine that function as neurotransmitters.
Rats that underwent the process of both, namely the sound exposure and cessation of stimulation experienced buzzing sound until three and a half months. While the mice that received only a single process, namely exposure to loud sound or only stimulation, did not change anything.
Examination of nerve response in the auditory cortex showed normal levels in mice treated with a combination of stimulation and sound, showing disturbance tinnitus has disappeared.
"Treating these mice is not only reorganizes the neurons to respond to their original frequency, but also make the brain sharper response," the study said.
"The key is that, unlike previous treatments, we did not cover up the tinnitus, we do not hide the tinnitus," said Kilgard.
"We restore the system of the brain that produces tinnitus to a section that does not result in tinnitus. We try to eliminate sources
tinnitus disturbance, "he said.
According to lead researcher of this study, Navzer Engineer, human clinical trials expected to begin in the coming months, with the first trials started in Europe. In the study mentioned, the process of vagus nerve stimulation, known as the vagus nerve stimulation / VNS, already used in the treatment of about 50,000 people with epilepsy or depression.
"Methods to minimize invasive way to produce malleable nerve, allowing us to precisely manipulate the brain circuits, which can not be achieved with drugs," said Engineer.
Pairing sound with VNS provides a precise way to reattach the damaged circuits and restore the abnormal activity that produces a strange sound.
Like many sufferers, Chepko have learned to how to cope with such noise. "I had to find other ways to relax in order to survive with this disorder, bathing or doing stretching, or just lie down and read a book, depending on how severe (voice)," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment