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“An objective, fast, and reasonably accurate assessment test that allows for easy interpretation of the responses

of the hearing thresholds at all frequencies of a conventional audiogram is needed to resolve the medicolegal aspects of an occupational hearing injury. This study evaluated the use of dichotic multiple-frequency auditory steady-state responses (Mf-ASSR) to predict the hearing thresholds in workers exposed to high levels of noise. The study sample included 34 workers with noise-induced hearing impairment. Thresholds of pure-tone audiometry (PTA) and Mf-ASSRs at four frequencies were assessed. The differences and correlations between the thresholds of Mf-ASSRs and PTA were determined. The results showed that, LY3023414 on average, Mf-ASSR curves corresponded well with the thresholds of the PTA contours averaged across subjects. The Mf-ASSRs were 20 +/- 8 dB, 16 +/- 9 dB, 12 +/- 9 dB, and 11 P005091 +/- 12 dB above the thresholds of the PTA for 500 Hz, 1,000 Hz, 2,000 Hz, and 4,000 Hz, respectively. The thresholds of the PTA and the Mf-ASSRs were significantly correlated (r = 0.77-0.89). We found that the measurement of Mf-ASSRs is easy and potentially time saving, provides a response at all dichotic multiple

frequencies of the conventional audiogram, reduces variability in the interpretation of the responses, and correlates well with the behavioral hearing thresholds in subjects with occupational noise-induced hearing impairment. Mf-ASSR can be a valuable aid in the adjustment of compensation cases. Copyright (C) 2011, Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.”
“Patients with active juvenile

idiopathic arthritis (MA) have frequently low haemoglobin (Hgb) due to inflammation and/or iron deficiency. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy on their iron status. Twenty children with JIA were treated with either etanercept (n=8) or infliximab (n=12) for 12 months. lion status was assessed during anti-TNF treatment by Hgb, mean corpuscular volume of red blood cells (MCV), serum iron (sFe), ferritin, percent transferrin saturation (sTrfesat) and serum transferrin receptor concentration (sTfR). The sTfR/log ferritin index (TfR/logF) was Birinapant datasheet also used. Prior to the therapy, Hgb and MCV were 118 +/- 15.5 g/L and 79 +/- 7.7 fl in the infliximab group, and 113 +/- 12.5 g/L and 78 +/- 5.8 fl in the etanercept group, respectively. In the whole group of patients, sFe was 6.3 +/- 4.1 mu mol/L and sTrfesat was 9%+/- 6%. During anti-TNF therapy, Hgb and MCV improved significantly without use of iron supplementation, and sFe and sTrfesat increased from low to normal levels while inflammation markers decreased, except in one patient, in whom sTfR stayed elevated and the TfR/logF index value was high. In patients with active JIA associated with anaemia, low levels of sFe and sTrfesat cannot be used as markers for iron deficiency.