Dataset Information

Cannabinoids, Inner Ear, Hearing, and Tinnitus: A Neuroimmunological Perspective.

ABSTRACT: Cannabis has been used for centuries for recreational and therapeutic purposes. Whereas, the recreative uses are based on the psychotropic effect of some of its compounds, its therapeutic effects range over a wide spectrum of actions, most of which target the brain or the immune system. Several studies have found cannabinoid receptors in the auditory system, both at peripheral and central levels, thus raising the interest in cannabinoid signaling in hearing, and especially in tinnitus, which is affected also by anxiety, memory, and attention circuits where cannabinoid effects are well described. Available studies on animal models of tinnitus suggest that cannabinoids are not likely to be helpful in tinnitus treatment and could even be harmful. However, the pharmacology of cannabinoids is very complex, and most studies focused on neural CB1R-based responses. Cannabinoid effects on the immune system (where CB2Rs predominate) are increasingly recognized as essential in understanding nervous system pathological responses, and data on immune cannabinoid targets have emerged in the auditory system as well. In addition, nonclassical cannabinoid targets (such as TRP channels) appear to play an important role in the auditory system as well. This review will focus on neuroimmunological mechanisms for cannabinoid effects and their possible use as protective and therapeutic agents in the ear and auditory system, especially in tinnitus.

SUBMITTER: Perin P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7719758 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cannabinoids, Inner Ear, Hearing, and Tinnitus: A Neuroimmunological Perspective.

Perin Paola P Mabou Tagne Alex A Enrico Paolo P Marino Franca F Cosentino Marco M Pizzala Roberto R Boselli Cinzia C

Frontiers in neurology 20201123

Cannabis has been used for centuries for recreational and therapeutic purposes. Whereas, the recreative uses are based on the psychotropic effect of some of its compounds, its therapeutic effects range over a wide spectrum of actions, most of which target the brain or the immune system. Several studies have found cannabinoid receptors in the auditory system, both at peripheral and central levels, thus raising the interest in cannabinoid signaling in hearing, and especially in tinnitus, which is ...[more]

PMID: 33329293

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Project description:The aim of the investigation was to study if dysfunctions associated to the cochlea or its regulatory system can be found, and possibly explain hearing problems in subjects with normal or near-normal audiograms. The design was a prospective study of subjects recruited from the general population. The included subjects were persons with auditory problems who had normal, or near-normal, pure tone hearing thresholds, who could be included in one of three subgroups: teachers, Education; people working with music, Music; and people with moderate or negligible noise exposure, Other. A fourth group included people with poorer pure tone hearing thresholds and a history of severe occupational noise, Industry. Ntotal?=?193. The following hearing tests were used: - pure tone audiometry with Békésy technique, - transient evoked otoacoustic emissions and distortion product otoacoustic emissions, without and with contralateral noise; - psychoacoustical modulation transfer function, - forward masking, - speech recognition in noise, - tinnitus matching. A questionnaire about occupations, noise exposure, stress/anxiety, muscular problems, medication, and heredity, was addressed to the participants. Forward masking results were significantly worse for Education and Industry than for the other groups, possibly associated to the inner hair cell area. Forward masking results were significantly correlated to louder matched tinnitus. For many subjects speech recognition in noise, left ear, did not increase in a normal way when the listening level was increased. Subjects hypersensitive to loud sound had significantly better speech recognition in noise at the lower test level than subjects not hypersensitive. Self-reported stress/anxiety was similar for all groups. In conclusion, hearing dysfunctions were found in subjects with tinnitus and other auditory problems, combined with normal or near-normal pure tone thresholds. The teachers, mostly regarded as a group exposed to noise below risk levels, had dysfunctions almost identical to those of the more exposed Industry group.

Project description:Although recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have contributed to the detection of tiny lesions in the internal auditory canal (IAC) that may be responsible for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL), there have been relatively few studies on the clinical characteristics of intra-labyrinthine hemorrhage (ILH) and labyrinthitis versus those regarding IAC tumors. Our purpose was to investigate the frequency of those IAC lesions on MRI and their clinical characteristics. Initial MRIs of 200 patients with SSNHL (93 men, 107 women; mean age = 48.61 years, range: 18-84 years), as well as detailed clinical histories, audiological examinations, and thyroid function, lipid battery, and serological tests (for viral agents and autoimmune disease), were performed. All patients were hospitalized at the time of diagnosis of SSNHL and were administered the same treatment protocol. Patients were divided into idiopathic and secondary groups according to their MRI results. After discharge, they underwent follow-up audiometry and clinical examination at predetermined intervals (2 weeks, 1, 2, 4, and 6 months, and 1 and 2 years). Propensity score-matching and receiver operating characteristics curves of the initial parameters were used for estimating clinical characteristics. Of the 200 patients, 25 (12.55%) who had abnormal findings suggesting inner ear lesions on MRI were assigned to the secondary SSNHL group; within this group, 10 patients (10/200, 5%) had a tumor invading the IAC, 7 (7/200, 3.5%) had ILH, 6 (6/200, 3%) had labyrinthitis, and 2 (1%) had a structural deformity of the IAC. The secondary group showed significantly poor recovery of hearing function compared with that in the idiopathic group. Patients with ILH or labyrinthitis showed prognoses that were equally poor as those of patients with tumors in the secondary group. Additionally, patients with such lesions showed significant canal paresis on the lesion side at an early stage and a high prevalence of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). In conclusion, the prevalence of non-tumorous lesions on MRI represents common findings and showed a poorer treatment response than that of vestibular Schwannoma in patients with SSNHL. Abnormal canal paresis (cut-off value of 35% on the lesioned side, sensitivity 65.2% and specificity 67%), spontaneous nystagmus directed to the contralesional side, and positional vertigo would be the clinical presentation of SSNHL with IAC lesions, in which the presence of acute prolonged vertigo or positional vertigo compatible with BPPV suggests the possibility of a non-tumorous lesion, such as ILH or a labyrinthitis rather than an IAC tumor.

Dataset Information

Cannabinoids, Inner Ear, Hearing, and Tinnitus: A Neuroimmunological Perspective.

Publications

Cannabinoids, Inner Ear, Hearing, and Tinnitus: A Neuroimmunological Perspective.

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