Tympanosclerosis middle ear. Whilst hearing loss is a common symptom in many diseases of the ear, for example in otosclerosis (abnormal bone growth in the ear), the white, chalky patches on the tympanic membrane are fairly characteristic of tympanosclerosis. Cholesteatoma is similar in appearance but the whiteness is behind the tympanic membrane, rather than inside. Hearing aids are a common treatment for hearing loss disorders. A more specific treatment is surgical, involving excision of the sclerotic areas and then further repair of the ossicular chain. There are several techniques, sometimes involving two surgeries; success rates are, however, variable. Damage to the
Membrane curvature several amphipathic alpha helices that allows it to partition between the hydrophobic core of the membrane and surrounding aqueous, hydrophilic environment. Another interesting characteristic of epsin and other proteins that bind to membranes is the fact that it shows high binding affinity for a fairly common membrane lipid, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI-4,5-P2). Unlike other proteins that simply bend the membrane through sheer rigidity, epsin is a globular soluble protein and thus not rigid. The insertion of its helices into the membrane force the neighboring lipids of the leaflet that has been bound to expand laterally. This displacement of lipids on only