Childhood Hearing Health: Educating for Prevention of Hearing Loss

Introduction The presence of noise in our society has attracted the attention of health professionals, including speech-language pathologists, who have been charged along with educators with developing hearing conservation programs in schools. Objective To describe the results of three strategies for awareness and hearing preservation in first to fourth grades in public elementary schools. Methods The level of environmental noise in classrooms was assessed, and 638 elementary school students from first to fourth grades, 5 to 10 years of age, were audiologically evaluated. After the evaluations, educational activities were presented to children and educators. Results The noise level in the classroom ranged from 71.8 to 94.8 A-weighted decibels. The environment of the classroom was found to promote sound reverberation, which hinders communication. Thirty-two students (5.1%) presented hearing alterations. Conclusion The application of strategies for a hearing conservation program at the school showed that noise is present in the room, and hearing loss, sometimes silent, affects schoolchildren. Students and teachers were aware that hearing problems can be prevented. Avoiding exposure to noise and improving the acoustics in classrooms are essential. .

Microalbuminuria, endocrinal metabolic disorders as predictors of hypertension

The present work aimed to study microalbuminuria, endocrinal and metabolic disorders that may predict hypertension. One hundred and thirty subjects were classified into three groups; group I patients with essential hypertension [50 patients], group II normotensive offsprings with family history of hypertension [50 subjects] and group III healthy normotensive subjects [30 subjects]. The study confirmed that many of the components of hypertension syndrome as metabolic abnormalities [increased total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and hyperhomocysteinemia], renal abnormalities [microalbuminuria] and endocrinal abnormalities [increased plasma insulin, norepinephrine, renin and endothelin levels] precede the onset of high blood pressure. So, early identification and treatment of them will have a more significant impact on the course of the disease

study of plasma endotholin and nitric oxide in diabetic patients

The endothelin and nitric oxide considered a new system useful to understand and study the molecular mechanisms involved in aging process and in many vascular alteration pathologies. The study of this work was conducted on 65 subjects which divided into three groups. Group I It included 25 NIDDM, 14 male and 11 female. Group II. It included 25 IDDM, 14 male and 11 female. Group III: It included 15 healthy subjects, 8 males and 7 females as control. The following investigation were done to all subjects: fasting and 2 hours PP plasma glucose level-Glycated hemoglobin urine analysis for microalbumin lipid profile plasma levels of endothelin and nitric oxide. The results of this study showed that significant increase in FB and PP blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, microalbumin and endothelin with significant decreases in nitric oxide levels in both diabetic groups compared to controls. The result of previous parameters did, not differ significantly between both studied diabetic groups. Also these results showed that significant elevation endothelin and significant reduction of nitric oxide in poor controlled diabetic subjects as compared to controlled diabetic subjects. Conclusion plasma endothelin and nitric oxide levels could be added as chemical markers of diabetic control

The effect of nitric oxide/endothelins system on the hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

The relationship between the hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and the balance of nitric oxide/endothelins (NO/ET) was studied. The changes of the ratio of NO/ET and the hepatic injury were observed in a rat hepatic I/R model pretreated with several tool drugs. In the acute phase of hepatic I/R injury, the ratio of plasma NO/ET was reduced from 1.58 +/- 0.20 to 0.29 +/- 0.05 (P < 0.01) and the hepatic damage deteriorated. NO donor L-Arg and ET receptor antagonist TAK-044 could alleviate the hepatic I/R injury to some degree, whereas NO synthase inhibitor L-NAME aggravated the damage. It was concluded that the hepatic I/R injury might be related with the disturbance of the NO/ET balance. Regulation of this balance might have an effect on the I/R injury.

Endothelin-1 and nitric oxide in children with renal hypertension

Plasma and urinary endothelin-1[ET-1] and nitrate [NOx] as an index of nitric oxide generation were measured in 27 hypertensive children with renoparenchymal diseases, 15 normotensive children with renoparenchymal diseases and 20 healthy control children of matched age and sex. The mean value of plasma ET-1 concentration was significantly higher in hypertensive children with renoparenchymal diseases than both normotensive renal diseased children and normotensive healthy controls. Significant positive correlation was found between ET-1 levels and mean blood pressure in hypertensive children with renal diseases. The mean value of 24 hours urinary excretion of ET-1 was significantly higher in normotensive children with renal diseases than normotensive healthy controls, but significantly lower than hypertensive children with renal diseases. Significant increase in the plasma levels of NOx was observed among hypertensive renal diseased children than normotensive renal diseased children and normotensive healthy controls. Significant positive correlation was found between the levels of plasma ET-1 and plasma NOx in hypertensive renal diseased children

Umbilical plasma concentration of endothelin-1 in intrapartum fetal heart rate abnormalities

The umbilical and maternal plasma concentrations of endothelin-1 [ET-1] were measured in 40 pregnant women at full-term [20 with elective cesarean section as a control group and 20 with emergency cesarean section done because of severe fetal heart rate [FHR]abnormalities. The FHR pattern was assessed, measured umbilical blood gases and investigated the relationships between the umbilical vein-artery ET-1 concentration difference and these variables. The concentration of ET-1 in the umbilical vein was higher than the umbilical artery in the all 40 women. The umbilical vein-artery ET-1 concentration difference [mean +/- standard error of the mean] was significantly greater in the emergency cesarean group [4.5 +/- 2.5 pmol/L] than those delivered by elective cesarean [1.7 +/- 1.5 pmol/L]. The umbilical vein-artery concentration difference correlated negatively with the umbilical arterial oxygen pressure. The study concluded that in cases with FHR abnormalities and with fetal hypoxia, the fetoplacental concentration of ET-1 was increased

Immunoreactive endothelin-1 in acute myocardial infarction

Plasma immunoreactive endothelin [ir-ET] was measured in 20 patients with acute myocardial infarction [AMT], 20 patients with stable angina pectoris [SAP] and 20 control subjects. In patients with AMI, the plasma level of ir-ET was elevated in the first and seventh days of AMI and dropped by the 14th day to normal control levels. There was no difference between patients with SAP and control subjects. The plasma ir-ET level showed a positive correlation with wall motion abnormality index and was highest in patients in whom the Killip subset was class IV. We conclude that [1] plasma fr-ET is increased in AMI in a degree considered among other factors responsible for extension of AMI and [3] estimation of ir-ET in the acute phase can help to assess the severity and extent of AMI