title: Protective properties of idebenone in noise-induced hearing loss in the guinea pig.
abstract: Idebenone is a synthetic analogue of coenzyme Q10 with antioxidant properties. The present study investigated the antioxidant activity of idebenone in the rescue of acoustic trauma. Noise-induced hearing loss was induced by exposing guinea pigs to a continuous pure tone and idebenone was injected intraperitoneally 1 h before noise exposure and once daily for 3 days. Guinea pigs treated with idebenone showed significantly smaller auditory threshold shifts than unprotected control animals. Missing and apoptotic cells were identified with scanning electron microscopy and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling assay. Protected animals presented a lesser extent of both apoptotic activation and hair cell loss in the organ of Corti. Our results suggest an antioxidant function of idebenone in protection from noise-induced hearing loss and provide a rationale for exploring therapeutic strategies in humans.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Catholic University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sergi
authors.forename: Anna Rita
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fetoni
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paludetti
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferraresi
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Navarra
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mordente
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Troiani
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000528:radiation effects; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016227:Benzoquinones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006317:Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling / Q000379:methods; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D014451:Ubiquinone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D016227:Benzoquinones; D014451:Ubiquinone; C036619:idebenone