Myelin undergoes various changes after nerve injury, and c‐Jun has a close relationship with Schwann cells (SCs). However, it remains unclear whether c‐Jun can be involved in nerve repair by regulating ferroptosis. To explore this, we first set up a facial nerve injury model and detected the changes of ferroptosis‐related proteins and c‐Jun by immunofluorescence and Western blot. Then, we cultured RSC 96 and pSCs, and studied the potential regulatory relationships by a combination of experimental methods such as CCK‐8, ELISA, immunofluorescence, qRT‐PCR, Western blot and viral transfection. Finally, we corroborated the role of c‐Jun through animal experiments. Our experiments revealed that ferroptosis occurs after facial nerve injury. Erastin decreased GPX4, c‐Jun proteins and GSH content, while PTGS2, NRF2, HO‐1 proteins, MDA, Fe²⁺ and ROS contents increased. This effect was inhibited after c‐Jun overexpression but was reversed after the addition of c‐Jun siRNA. Besides, we proved in vivo that c‐Jun could inhibit ferroptosis and promote the recovery of facial nerve function. In conclusion, our study identified the relationship between c‐Jun and ferroptosis during peripheral nerve injury repair, which provides new ideas for studying peripheral nerve injury and repair.

Mutations in the GJB2 gene that encodes connexin 26 (Cx26) are the predominant cause of prelingual hereditary deafness, and the most frequently encountered variants cause complete loss of protein function. To investigate how Cx26 deficiency induces deafness, we examined the levels of apoptosis and autophagy in Gjb2^loxP/loxP; ROSA26^CreER mice injected with tamoxifen on the day of birth. After weaning, these mice exhibited severe hearing impairment and reduced Cx26 expression in the cochlear duct. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) positive cells were observed in apical, middle, and basal turns of Kölliker’s organ at postnatal (P) day 1 (P1), associated with increased expression levels of cleaved caspase 3, but decreased levels of autophagy-related proteins LC3-II, P62, and Beclin1. In Kölliker’s organ cells with decreased Cx26 expression, we also found significantly reduced levels of intracellular ATP and hampered Ca²⁺ responses evoked by extracellular ATP application. These results offer novel insight into the mechanisms that prevent hearing acquisition in mouse models of non-syndromic hearing impairment due to Cx26 loss of function.

Objective: To investigate the associations between cognition, anxiety, depression, and residual dizziness after successful repositioning maneuvers in the elderly with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV).Methods: We enrolled 40 elderly patients with BPPV in our outpatient department. We used the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-7 (GAD-7) to assess the degree of dizziness, anxiety, and depression of participants before repositioning therapy, respectively. At the 1-week follow-up after BPPV treatment, each participant will be reassessed and divided into a group with residual dizziness (RD) and a group without residual dizziness (NRD) based on the follow-up DHI score. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) evaluated the cognitive function of the participants.Results: The age, gender, duration of BPPV, and involved semicircular canals in the two groups did not show a significant difference. The RD group scored significantly higher on the DHI (p = 0.006), GAD-7 (p < 0.001), and PHQ-9 (p = 0.002) before the repositioning treatment than the NRD group. The two groups had no significant difference in MMSE score (p = 0.381). Anxiety and depression scores before repositioning treatment significantly and positively correlated with follow-up DHI scores (r = 0.678 and 0.522, respectively), but the MMSE score did not significantly relate to it. The univariate linear regression showed that the DHI (p < 0.001), GAD-7 (p < 0.001), and PHQ-9 (p = 0.002) scores before treatment could predict residual dizziness. The multivariate linear regression showed that GAD-7 before treatment was the only significant predictor of residual dizziness (p < 0.001).Conclusion: The level of dizziness, anxiety, and depression before treatment can predict residual dizziness after successful repositioning maneuvers in the elderly with BPPV. Anxiety may be the strongest predictor of residual dizziness after successful repositioning treatment in elderly BPPV patients.

Objective: Our aim was to determine the correlation between cognitive impairment and P300 event-related potential (ERP) in older adults with vertigo and imbalance, which further provides a reference for clinical diagnosis and patients’ rehabilitation. Methods: A total of 79 older adult patients with vertigo and imbalance in our outpatient department from January 2022 to December 2022 were selected and divided into the mild group (n = 20), moderate group (n = 39), and severe group (n = 20) according to the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI). The auditory P300 component of event-related potentials (ERPs), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were used to evaluate depression, anxiety, and cognitive function in these patients, respectively. Results: The P300 latencies of the different severity groups were 292 ± 10 ms, 301 ± 8 ms, and 328 ± 5 ms, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (p = 0.010). The P300 amplitudes of the different severity groups were 14.4 ± 2.6 μV, 3.9 ± 0.8 μV, and 5.1 ± 1.4 μV, respectively, and the differences were also statistically significant (p = 0.004). There was no statistically significant difference in the DHI evaluation or VAS visual simulation scoring between the two groups (p = 0.625, and 0.878, respectively). Compared with the short-course group, the long-course group showed prolonged P300 latency and decreased amplitude, higher scores in PHQ-9 and GAD-7, and lower scores in MMSE, and all the differences were statistically significant (p = 0.013, 0.021, 0.006, 0.004, and 0.018, respectively). Conclusion: Older patients with more severe symptoms of vertigo and imbalance are at higher risk of developing abnormal cognitive function. The P300 can be used as an objective neurophysiological test for the assessment of cognitive function relevant to elderly patients with vertigo and imbalance.

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the status of vestibular function in children with vestibular migraine of childhood (VMC) reflected by vestibular function test battery and explore the pathophysiological implication of these instrument-based findings.Methods: The clinical data of 22 children (mean age 10.7 ± 2.9 years) with VMC who met the diagnostic criteria of the Barany Society were collected from September 2021 to March 2022. A vestibular function test battery on these children included a caloric test, video head impulse test (vHIT), cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP), and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP); these parameters were triggered by air-conducted sound (ACS) and galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS). The subjects were further divided into two groups: 3 months according to the disease duration from symptom onset. The functional abnormalities and their characteristics reflected by the vestibular test battery, as well as the outcomes in children with or without aura, were analyzed.Results: (1) The abnormal rate of the caloric test was 15.8% and that of vHIT was 0%. The response rates of ACS-cVEMP and ACS-oVEMP were 100% and 90.5%, respectively. The response rates of GVS-cVEMP and GVS-oVEMP were 100% and 88.9%, respectively. (2) No statistical difference was observed in the abnormal rate of the caloric test (P = 0.55) and the response rate of ACS-oVEMP (P = 0.21) between the two groups, irrespective of the course duration. (3) No statistical difference was detected in the abnormal rate of the caloric test (P = 0.53) and the response rate of ACS-oVEMP (P = 1.00) in children with or without aura.Conclusion: Vestibular function status comprehensively reported by the vestibular test battery did not show an aggravation with the disease duration in children with VMC. Also, it was not affected by the existence of aura in children with VMC. The high abnormal rates of the caloric test and oVEMPs (ACS-oVEMP and GVS-oVEMP) suggested that the lateral semicircular canal (low-frequency function component), the utricle, and the superior vestibular conduction pathway might be involved in VMC.