University of Illinois College of Medicine, United States.
Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States; Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States.
Ageing Res Rev. 2018 Jul;44:49-59. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2018.04.001. Epub 2018 Apr 6.
Recent findings suggest that both peripheral and central auditory system dysfunction occur in the prodromal stages of Alzheimer Disease (AD), and therefore may represent early indicators of the disease. In addition, loss of auditory function itself leads to communication difficulties, social isolation and poor quality of life for both patients with AD and their caregivers. Developing a greater understanding of auditory dysfunction in early AD may shed light on the mechanisms of disease progression and carry diagnostic and therapeutic importance. Herein, we review the literature on hearing abilities in AD and its prodromal stages investigated through methods such as pure-tone audiometry, dichotic listening tasks, and evoked response potentials. We propose that screening for peripheral and central auditory dysfunction in at-risk populations is a low-cost and effective means to identify early AD pathology and provides an entry point for therapeutic interventions that enhance the quality of life of AD patients.
最近的研究结果表明，阿尔茨海默病（AD）的前驱期既存在外周听觉系统功能障碍，也存在中枢听觉系统功能障碍，因此，这些改变可能是 AD 的早期标志物。此外，听觉功能的丧失本身会导致患者及其照料者出现沟通困难、社会隔离和生活质量下降等问题。深入了解 AD 患者的早期听觉功能障碍可能有助于阐明疾病进展的机制，并具有诊断和治疗意义。本文通过纯音测听、双耳分听任务和诱发电位等方法，对 AD 及其前驱期的听力能力进行了综述。我们提出，对高危人群进行外周和中枢听觉功能障碍筛查是一种低成本、有效的方法，可以识别 AD 的早期病理，并为增强 AD 患者生活质量的治疗干预提供切入点。
