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Antibodies to collagen types I, II, and IV were measured in patients with otosclerosis and patients with Meniere's disease. Levels of antibodies to type II collagen were significantly higher in these patients than in control subjects, while no differences were found among levels of antibodies to collagen type I or type IV. These observations suggest a possible role for type II collagen autoimmunity in the etiology of otosclerosis and Meniere's disease.

-Cigarette smoke has been known to affect the development of bowel disease. However it has not been fully elucidated how cigarette smoke has effects on the gut. In this context we evaluated not only caecal levels of organic acids but also populations of micro-flora and pH in caecal contents after exposing rats (n = 5) to cigarette smoke for a 4-week in order to investigate whether the gut environment is altered by cigarette smoke or not. After the exposure of cigarette smoke, caecal levels of organic acids such as acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid and valeric acid significantly decreased. Additionally the population of Bifidobacterium significantly decreased and the pH significantly elevated. In conclusion cigarette smoke changes caecal levels of certain organic acids, the population of Bifidobacterium and the pH in caecal contents of rats. These results suggest that cigarette smoke may alter the gut environment of rats.

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