Altered Toll- and Nod-like receptor expression in human middle ear mucosa from patients with chronic middle ear disease.

摘要

Chronic middle ear disease (CMED) appears in different guises like chronic suppurative otitis media and retraction type middle ear disease. A typical feature is recurrent episodes of middle ear infections combined with hearing loss. The mechanisms behind the development of CMED are not fully known. Otitis media with effusion (OME) has for long been regarded as a contributory cause of CMED. There is also a link between frequent episodes of acute otitis media (AOM) and the development of CMED. An aggressive episode of AOM can result in chronic suppurative otitis media with a perforated tympanic membrane.Bacterial colonization of the adenoid is an important risk factor for AOM, and a genetic susceptibility hasbeen revealed for both AOM and OME.