Electrophysiologic Marker for Constant Tinnitus May Spur… : Neurology Today – LWW Journals
Article In Brief
A new study has uncovered a reliable electrophysiologic biomarker that distinguishes those with constant tinnitus from those who experience it only occasionally. The findings may provide an objective marker for the condition, which may aid research and attract the attention of pharmaceutical companies to pursue clinical trials. Our experts note that since there are currently no outcome measures for clinical trials in tinnitus or mechanism-based …….
Article In Brief
A new study has uncovered a reliable electrophysiologic biomarker that distinguishes those with constant tinnitus from those who experience it only occasionally. The findings may provide an objective marker for the condition, which may aid research and attract the attention of pharmaceutical companies to pursue clinical trials. Our experts note that since there are currently no outcome measures for clinical trials in tinnitus or mechanism-based treatments, if the study can be validated, it could be very promising.
Affecting nearly 15 percent of the population, tinnitus is one of the most common, and yet least appreciated, neurologic conditions. Little research is funded to study it, and despite slow progress in understanding its underlying pathophysiology, there are no specific treatments for it. But a new study has uncovered a reliable electrophysiologic biomarker that distinguishes those with constant tinnitus from those who experience it only occasionally. If validated, it may provide an objective marker for the condition, which may aid research and attract the attention of pharmaceutical companies to pursue clinical trials.
“The important message is that constant tinnitus should no longer be seen simply as a symptom of other conditions,” said Christopher Cederroth, PhD, principal investigator on the study published online on January 25 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. “It should be considered a neurological disorder,” said Dr. Cederroth, associate professor of experimental audiology in the department of physiology and pharmacology at the Karolinska Institute, in Solna, Sweden.
Tinnitus—the perception of sound without an external stimulus—can be intermittent or constant, soft or loud, benign or aggravating, present with hearing loss or with normal hearing, accompanied by depression or anxiety, or without any comorbid condition.
“One major limitation has been that we use the same word to refer to all these different forms,” Dr. Cederroth said, without distinguishing subtypes that might be amenable to different approaches to treatment. Patients with tinnitus may be under the care of an otolaryngologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, or primary care physician, further contributing to the difficulty of developing treatments. And while animal models exist, they are often met with a skepticism about their validity not seen for rodent models of other complex disorders, such as schizophrenia.
Study Details
To bring some clarity to the diagnostic field, Dr. Cederroth turned to electrophysiology. In the current model of tinnitus pathophysiology, damage to the hearing sense reduces input to the auditory brainstem and auditory cortex, which compensates by increasing firing rate and other parameters, creating the sensation of sound in absence of input. Thus, Dr. Cederroth reasoned, the auditory brainstem response (ABR), a series of waves emanating from the brainstem in response to …….
