Abnormal Calcium Metabolism in the Living Human Inner Ear Disorders

Abstract

Aims1) What kinds of metabolic abnormalities were caused by the inner ear disorders such as presbycusis, sudden deafness, tinnitus, BPPV, and Meniere's disease? 2) To investigate an imaging method of abnormal calcium oxide concentrated in the inner ear used by a conventional spiral CT.Subjects6 normal ears of adolescence, 6 normal ears of elderlies, 3 ears of sudden deafness, 3 ears of BPPV, 6 ears of tinnitus, and 3 ears of Meniere's disease. Every cases were undergone follow‐up exams after medical treatments.Methods3D virtual histology of the inner ear used by the volume rendering technique was reconstructed by a conventional temporal HR‐CT. For the imaging study of calcium oxide in the desiccant, quantitative analysis based on 3D volume rendering technique used by a spiral thin section CT.imageResults6 normal adolescent ears showed no image of calcium oxide. Meniere's disease, tinnitus originating from the ear, sudden deafness, and BPPV and aging changes revealed abnormal deposited of calcium oxide at the cochlea and saccule. For tinnitus originating from the ear, the calcium oxide deposited in the cochlea. Otherwise, tinnitus from brain did not deposit in the inner ear. Aging change showed calcium oxide deposited in the cochlea and vestibule in correlation with their aging.imageConclusionAll inner ear disorders and aging changes showed abnormal images of calcium oxide like figure 2. But, tinnitus originating from brain showed no calcium oxide deposited in the cochlea. These facts implicated that inner ear disorders and aging change were caused by unbalance metabolism between calcium ion and oxygen. But we cannot deny the existence of calcium peroxide (CaO2) that was produced by free radical action.