How socioeconomic and structural barriers influence dental care among transgender people.

Background: While recent US policies restrict access to healthcare and resulting health disparities among the transgender community, little is known about oral health access and utilization among this population. This study assessed self-reported access to dental care among transgender adults living in the United States.

Method: The study sample included 1,284,526 observations representing a weighted population of 290,000,163 from Behavioral Risk Factor and Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) datasets.

Contact Lens Wear Alters Transcriptional Responses to in Both the Corneal Epithelium and the Bacteria.

Purpose: Healthy corneas resist colonization by virtually all microbes yet contact lens wear can predispose the cornea to sight-threatening infection with . Here, we explored how lens wear changes corneal epithelium transcriptional responses to and its impact on bacterial gene expression.

Methods: Male and female C57BL/6J mice were fitted with a contact lens on one eye for 24 h.

Oral health statuses of individuals diagnosed with gastroparesis: A Cross-Section study.

Background: Gastroparesis (GP) is a debilitating gastric motility disorder associated with digestive dysfunction, reduced quality of life (QoL), and increased mortality rates. There is no known cure for GP and treatment options are limited. The oral cavity is responsible for initiating digestion, yet the impact of GP symptom frequency on oral health status and oral healthcare utilization is not well understood.

Intracellular replication of in epithelial cells requires suppression of the caspase-4 inflammasome.

Pathogenesis of infections can include bacterial survival inside epithelial cells. Previously, we showed that this involves multiple roles played by the type three secretion system (T3SS), and specifically the effector ExoS. This includes ExoS-dependent inhibition of a lytic host cell response that subsequently enables intracellular replication.