The birth and differentiation of neurons have been extensively studied in the olfactory epithelium (OE) of rodents but not in humans. The goal of this study was to characterize cellular composition and molecular expression of human OE in vivo and in vitro. In rodent OE, there are horizontal basal cells and globose basal cells that are morphologically and functionally distinct. In human OE, however, there appears to be no morphological distinction among basal cells, with almost all cells having round cell bodies similar to rodent globose basal cells. Unlike the case in rodents, human basal cells, including putative neuronal precursors, express p75NGFR, suggesting a distinctive role for p75NGFR in human OE neurogenesis. Molecular expression of neuronal cells during differentiation in human OE grossly follows that in rodents. However, the topographical organization of immature and mature ORNs in human OE differs from that of rodents, in that immature and mature ORNs in humans are dispersed throughout the OE, whereas rodent counterparts have a highly laminar organization. These observations together suggest that the birth and differentiation of neuronal cells in human OE differ from those in rodents. In OE explant culture, neuronal cells derived from human OE biopsy express markers for immature and mature neurons, grossly recapitulating neuronal differentiation of olfactory neurons in vivo. Furthermore, small numbers of cells are doubly label for bromodeoxyuridine and olfactory marker protein, indicating that neuronal cells born in vitro reach maturity. These data highlight species-related differences in OE development and demonstrate the utility of explant culture for experimental studies of human neuronal development.

Multiple myeloma, solitary plasmacytoma of bone, and extramedullary plasmacytoma are plasma cell neoplasms. They represent distinct manifestations of a disease continuum, whereby the clinical findings are critical to diagnosis. Plasma cell neoplasms are histologically similar, and distinguishing one from the other has significant implications for treatment and survival. Plasma cell neoplasms are relatively unusual malignancies of the head and neck region. We present a case series of plasma cell neoplasms involving the skull base, paranasal sinus, larynx, and mandible as an introduction to a complete review of the literature on plasma cell neoplasms of the head and neck area.

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The olfactory mucosa (OM) is a unique source of regenerative neural tissue that is readily obtainable from living human subjects and thus affords opportunities for the study of psychiatric illnesses. OM tissues can be used, either as ex vivo OM tissue or in vitro OM-derived neural cells, to explore parameters that have been difficult to assess in the brain of living individuals with psychiatric illness. As OM tissues are distinct from brain tissues, an understanding of the neurobiology of the OM is needed to relate findings in these tissues to those of the brain as well as to design and interpret ex vivo or in vitro OM studies. To that end, we discuss the molecular, cellular and functional characteristics of cell types within the olfactory mucosa, describe the organization of the OM and highlight its role in the olfactory neurocircuitry. In addition, we discuss various approaches to in vitro culture of OM-derived cells and their characterization, focusing on the extent to which they reflect the in vivo neurobiology of the OM. Finally, we review studies of ex vivo OM tissues and in vitro OM-derived cells from individuals with psychiatric, neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. In particular, we discuss the concordance of this work with postmortem brain studies and highlight possible future approaches, which may offer distinct strengths in comparison to in vitro paradigms based on genomic reprogramming.

We conducted a study of 47 pati ents with various voice disorders to determin e the prevalence of concomitant psychopathology. The prevalence of psychiatric symptoms varied considerably among patients with the three most common voice disorders: 63.6 % among patients with vocal f old paralysis, 29.4% am ong those with fun ctiona I dysphonia , and 7.1 % among those with spasmodic dysphonia. Levels of anxiety and depression correlated moderately with the seve rity ofvoice symptoms in patients with vocalfo ld paralysis, but not in those with functional or spasmodic dysphonia. Certain abnormal personality traits-including interpersonal sensitivity and distrust of others-were more common among pat ients with fun ctional dysphonia. The low rate ofp sychopathology among pat ients with spasmodic dysphonia is consi stent with rates reported in previous investigatio ns. Our fi ndings suggest that the p revalence of psychopathology in patients with voice disorders varies acco rding to the specific voice diagnosis, as does the relationship between specific psychiatric and voice symptoms.

The data indicate that the immune response that results in the formation of granulation tissue is mediated by circulating B- and/or T-cell processes rather than resident airway immune cells. Further studies focusing on cellular adaptive immune processes in response to airway injury may provide a novel treatment modality for subglottic stenosis.

Head and neck cancer patients have decreased taste function, and radiation adversely affected sour taste and taste pores.

With encouraging signs of pandemic containment nationwide, the promise of return to a full range of clinical practice is on the horizon. Clinicians are starting to prepare for a transition from limited evaluation of emergent and urgent complaints to resumption of elective surgical procedures and routine office visits within the next few weeks to months. Otolaryngology as a specialty faces unique challenges when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic due to the fact that a comprehensive head and neck examination requires aerosol-generating endoscopic procedures. Since the COVID-19 pandemic is far from being over and the future may hold other highly communicable infectious threats that may require similar precautions, standard approaches to the clinical evaluation of common otolaryngology complaints will have to be modified. In this communication, we present practical recommendations for dysphagia evaluation with modifications to allow a safe and comprehensive assessment.