Tonsil News and Research

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Tonsillectomies increasingly performed to treat snoring and sleep disorders

A new Mayo Clinic study indicates tonsillectomies are increasingly being performed to treat airway obstructions evidenced by snoring and sleep disorders as opposed to tonsil infections.

18 Sep 2007

HPV infection and head and neck cancer

The human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated as a cause of cervical cancer in women, but there's another devastating form of cancer also linked to HPV infection - head and neck cancer - and almost no one is talking about it.

18 Sep 2007

Intracapsular tonsil removal associated with reduced postoperative pain, bleeding

Patients who have a tonsillectomy using an “intracapsular” technique - which removes at least 90 percent of tonsil tissue, but spares the tonsil capsule - appear to have less postoperative heavy bleeding and pain compared with those who undergo traditional tonsil removal surgery, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery

18 Sep 2007

Irish study to look at how bacteria, Yersinia enterocolitica, enters the food chain

Monitoring of pig carcasses and pig meat in slaughterhouses, butchers' premises and retail outlets will be undertaken in Ireland over the next two years in an attempt to determine how a human disease causing bacteria, Yersinia enterocolitica, enters the food chain, scientists announced today (Tuesday 4 September 2007) at the Society for General Microbiology's 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which runs from 3-6 September 2007.

4 Sep 2007

Genial bone advancement trephine effective treatiment for sleep apnea

Sleep disorder and ear, nose and throat specialists at Thomas Jefferson University are examining an innovative procedure to treat obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

29 Aug 2007

Trends in head and neck cancer incidence in relation to smoking

Though the overall incidence of head and neck cancers has fallen in the United States, the rate of oropharyngeal (chiefly, tonsil and base of tongue) cancers is stagnant and appears to be rising is certain populations and these trends are likely due to oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.

28 Aug 2007

Oral sex the culprit in rising numbers of throat cancers

According to the latest figures on head and neck cancer, even though the rates for such cancers have dropped in recent years, throat cancer rates in the United States have not dropped.

28 Aug 2007

7-step guide to understanding tonsils and strep

Fifteen-year-old Kaci Jawegg's family knew the signs and symptoms all too well: It would start with itchy ears, followed by a sore and scratchy throat.

6 Aug 2007

Tonsil epithelial factors may influence oropharyngeal HIV transmission

Current research demonstrates that the tonsils may possess the necessary factors to act as a transmission site for the spread of HIV.

27 Jul 2007

Taste loss after tonsillectomy unusual

In a small study of patients undergoing tonsillectomy, or removal of the tonsils, none reported an ongoing dysfunction in their sense of taste following the procedure, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Otolaryngology?Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

17 Jul 2007

Blood test may help signal tumor's remission, return in throat cancer patients

A blood test that detects proteins commonly released by a growing tumor could one day become a useful tool for monitoring the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation treatment in people with advanced throat cancer, according to a study published in the June 1, 2007, issue of Clinical Cancer Research .

3 Jun 2007

Scientists develop method to track immune system enzyme in live animals

Scientists supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) at the National Institutes of Health have created two mouse strains that will permit researchers to trace, in a live animal, the activity of an enzyme believed to play a crucial role both in the normal immune response as well as autoimmunity and B cell tumor development.

18 May 2007

Oral sex 'ups' the risk of throat cancer

According to scientists in the U.S. a virus contracted through oral sex is the cause of some throat cancers.

14 May 2007

Human papillomavirus linked to throat cancers

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have conclusive evidence that human papillomavirus (HPV) causes some throat cancers in both men and women.

10 May 2007

Sleep apnea linked to heart disease

New research in the U.S. suggests that people who suffer from sleep apnea have an increased risk of heart disease.

5 Mar 2007

Multispectral imaging of clinically relevant cellular targets in tonsil and lymphoid tissue using semiconductor quantum dots

When pathologists examine tissue samples in order to diagnose cancer of the lymphatic system, they examine the relative amounts of a group of proteins known as Cluster of Differentiation markers.

25 Sep 2006

Thyroid cancer among women in the U.S. has increased

The number of new cases of thyroid cancer among women in the U.S. has increased over the past decade despite a decline among women in mortality rates for most cancers, according to a report released Wednesday by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the National Cancer Institute, CDC and the American Cancer Society, Long Island Newsday reports.

7 Sep 2006

A wake-up call for parents of children with sleep apnea

In what is believed to be the first study showing neural changes in the brains of children with serious, untreated sleep apnea, Johns Hopkins researchers conclude that children with the disorder appear to suffer damage in two brain structures tied to learning ability.

31 Aug 2006

vCJD may have infected far more people than previously thought

Scientists at the National CJD Surveillance Unit at the University of Edinburgh say that thousands may be infected with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) without showing signs or symptoms.

21 May 2006

Transportation of prion protein across the intestinal mucosa of scrapie-susceptible and scrapie-resistant sheep

While newly published research confirms that under laboratory circumstances prion-protein can be absorbed across the gut, it also shows that this is unlikely to occur in real life.

4 Apr 2006