摘 要: | Objective Hyperbaric oxygen treatment(HBOT) has demonstrated efficacy in improving hearing levels of patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss(ISSHL); however, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. HBOT alleviates the inflammatory response, which is mediated by Toll-like receptor(TLR) 4 and nuclear factor(NF)-κB. In this study we investigated whether HBOT attenuates inflammation in ISHHL patients via alteration of TLR4 and NF-κB expression.Methods ISHHL patients(n = 120) and healthy control subjects(n = 20) were enrolled in this study.Patients were randomly divided into medicine group treated with medicine only(n = 60) and HBO group receiving both HBOT and medicine(n = 60). Audiometric testing was performed pre-and posttreatment. TLR4, NF-кB, and TNF-α expression in peripheral blood of ISSHL patients and healthy control subjects was assessed by ELISA before and after treatment.Results TLR4, NF-κB, and TNF-α levels were upregulated in ISSHL patients relative to healthy control subjects; the levels were decreased following treatment and were lower in the HBO group than that in the medicine group post-treatment(P 0.05 and P 0.01).Conclusion HBOT alleviates hearing loss in ISSHL patients by suppressing the inflammatory response induced by TLR4 and NF-κB signaling.
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