[Tonsillectomy, an open problem].

The association between tongue-base position and craniofacial morphology was investigated in 35 preschool children (17 girls and 18 boys), 3 to 6 years of age, by the lateral cephalometric radiographs. There was no statistical difference in the measurements of those between girls and boys. Posterior facial height, nasal floor length, mandibular corpus length and tongue-base position were positively correlated with age, and tongue-base position was correlated with maxillary position, vertical mandibular rotation and the nasopharyngeal airway space. The results of this study showed that tongue-base position influenced maxillo-mandibular growth even in young preschool children.

Adenoids↗

PubMed2003

Oral epithelial cells are susceptible to cell-free and cell-associated HIV-1 infection in vitro.

Epithelial cells lining the oral cavity are exposed to HIV-1 through breast-feeding and oral-genital contact. Genital secretions and breast milk of HIV-1-infected subjects contain both cell-free and cell-associated virus. To determine if oral epithelial cells can be infected with HIV-1 we exposed gingival keratinocytes and adenoid epithelial cells to cell-free virus and HIV-1-infected peripheral blood mononuclear cells and monocytes. Using primary isolates we determined that gingival keratinocytes are susceptible to HIV-1 infection via cell-free CD4-independent infection only. R5 but not X4 viral strains were capable of infecting the keratinocytes. Further, infected cells were able to release infectious virus. In addition, primary epithelial cells isolated from adenoids were also susceptible to infection; both cell-free and cell-associated virus infected these cells. These data have potential implications in the transmission of HIV-1 in the oral cavity.

Adenoids↗