13th International Danube Otorhinolaryngological Congress and ENT National Congress 2014

The conference was organized by the Romanian Society of Rhinology and Endoscopic Sinus Surgery, under the auspices of the Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medical Sciences. Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing was the only Polish scientific center numerously represented at this conference.

Four of our experts (Dr. Bartłomiej Król, Dr. Magdalena Sosna, Dr. Piotr H. Skarżyński and Mateusz Rusiniak, MA) presented in Romania as many as 12 works. They were focused on issues of otosurgery (including the treatment of otosclerosis and hearing loss using the BAHA Attract system) and endoscopic sinus surgery. In addition, Dr. Piotr Skarżyński participated in a panel discussion on the problems of the stapes surgery. The team of Institute has also presented the results of many years of experience in hearing screening in children, and the results of fMRI studies in patients with partial deafness. For the presentation of the work “ Auditory attention deficits in dyslectic children – simultaneous ERP-fMRI examination of the specific Auditory Therapy outcome” (M. Rusiniak, M. Lewandowska, T. Wolak, R. Milner, M. Ganc, A. Pluta, K. Cieśla, H. Skarżyński) Mateusz Rusiniak was awarded Best Free Paper Award (for the best oral presentation to the participant under 40 years of age). The authors show that Skarżyński treatment method, which is carried out at the Institute in children with dyslexia, can permanently improve the functioning of the central nervous system. The study involved two groups of dyslexic children – in the first one Skarżyński method was used, and in the second one – children underwent therapy widely used in psychological and pedagogical clinics. All children twice – first before treatment and then after its completion – under the supervision of fMRI performed the same task in recognizing sounds in slightly higher frequencies of randomly scattered among the sounds of the base frequency (750 Hz). Tests showed that children in both groups had improved reading ability, while in the group, where the Skarżyński method was applied, it was much more visible. In contrast, neuroimaging studies have shown that only after training used in the Institute there are changes in the organization of the brain – increased amplitude of EEG signal for the wave P300 responsible for the processes, as well as an increase in BOLD signal in fMRI results in the areas of the cingulate gyrus (responsible inter alia for note). These results may indicate a permanent change in the functioning of the central nervous system, which is highly desirable in the treatment of dyslexia.