[Hormone-producing (paracrine) cells in the human labyrinth].

Presence of immunoreactive somatostatin in the covering epithelial cells of the spiral prominence was demonstrated by immunohistochemical methods. The concentration of somatostatin increases from the basal turn to the apical turn of the cochlea. Ultrastructural investigations of these cells reveal secretory granules with a diameter of 250-350 nm. The findings promote the existence of a local paracrine system of the inner ear.