Reactive oxygen species have been invoked as a causative agent of cell death in many
different developmental and pathological states. The presence of free radicals and their
importance in hair cell death due to aminoglycosides is suggested by a number of studies
that have demonstrated a protective effect of antioxidants. By using dichlorofluorescin
(DCFH) a fluorescent compound that is a reporter of reactive oxygen species, we have
shown that free radicals are rapidly produced by avian hair cells in vitro after exposure to …