BACKGROUND Toll-like receptor 4 plays a role in pathogen recognition, and common polymorphisms may alter host susceptibility to infectious diseases. PURPOSE To review the association of two common polymorphisms (TLR4 896A>G and TLR4 1196C>T) with infectious diseases. DATA SOURCES We searched PubMed and EMBASE up to March 2013 for pertinent literature in English, and complemented search with...

The usefulness of tonsillar biopsy on live deer for preclinical diagnosis of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy chronic wasting disease (CWD) was evaluated. Disease was tracked in a CWD-endemic herd using serial tonsillar biopsies collected at 6 to 9 month intervals from 34 captive mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) and five white-tailed deer (O. virginianus). Tonsillar biopsies were exam...

BACKGROUND The oral probiotic Streptococcus salivarius K12 has been shown clearly to antagonize the growth of Streptococcus pyogenes, the most important bacterial cause of pharyngeal infections in humans, by releasing two bacteriocins named salivaricin A2 and salivaricin B. Unpublished observations indicate that it can also antagonize the growth of other bacteria involved in acute otitis media....

The most common site of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection is the urogenital tract. Men with this infection may experience dysuria with penile discharge, and women may have mild vaginal mucopurulent discharge, severe pelvic pain, or no symptoms. Other N. gonorrhoeae infections include anorectal, conjunctival, pharyngeal, and ovarian/uterine. Infections that occur in the neonatal period may cause o...

UNLABELLED Recurrent tonsillitis has been the subject of frequent investigation. Misuse of antibiotic therapy in acute tonsillitis, changes to the tonsillar microflora, structural changes to the tonsillar crypts, and viral infections have been listed as predisposing or causal factors for recurrent tonsillitis. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection usually occurs in early childhood and may persist ...

The incidence of tonsillar cancer has increased by four times in the United States over the last few decades likely due to recent increase in human papilloma virus (HPV) infections. The stage of the tumor predicts likelihood of metastasis, with advanced stages associated with higher chances of metastasis. The squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) of the head and neck commonly metastasize to the lung,...

BACKGROUND Recurrent tonsillitis and sleep apnea are the major indications for tonsillectomy in children. We hypothesized that the recurrent vibration in the upper airway of snoring children would promote inflammatory changes in the tonsillar tissue and would lead to the up-regulation of cysteinyl leukotriene (LT) receptors (Rs). OBJECTIVE To assess the expression patterns of the human LT-Rs ...

BACKGROUND To guide interpretation of gonorrhea tests of cure using nucleic acid amplification testing, this study examined the persistence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae DNA following treatment for pharyngeal and rectal gonorrhea. METHODS Men who had sex with men diagnosed with pharyngeal or rectal gonorrhea underwent swabbing from the pharynx or rectum 7 and 14 days following treatment. Repeat te...

Mrs. Q. M. M., 30, noticed " spots " on her throat and tongue four months ago. She was and is quite well: " the tongue felt uncomfortable " and she then saw the spots more or less as they are now?prominent, irregular, greyish masses on either tonsil, mainly round the crypta magna, on the posterior part of the tongue and on the back wall of the pharynx. Some are fully 1 cm. long, others much sma...

The human palatine tonsils, which belong to the central antigen handling sites of the mucosal immune system, are frequently affected by acute and recurrent infections. This study compared the microbiota of the tonsillar crypts in children and adults affected by recurrent tonsillitis with that of healthy adults and children with tonsillar hyperplasia. An in-depth 16S rRNA gene based pyrosequenci...