Candida spp

One of the more recent innovative approaches was to look for new micro-organisms and novel carbohydrate substrates. The early fermentations used sugar beet or cane molasses, various syrups, sweet potato starch or glucose itself and the micro-organism was always an Aspergillus spp. In the early 1930 s it was found that yeasts would produce dtric add from acetate. Since then a variety of yeasts, prindpally Candida spp., has been shown to convert glucose, w-alkanes or ethanol to dtric add with great effidency. 

The realisation that yeasts would produce dtric acid from n-paraffins was veiy attractive in the late 1960 s. Petroleum byproducts were plentiful and very cheap and there was detailed knowledge available on these processes because the use of hydrocarbon-utilising yeasts for single cell protein was well developed. The strategy was to use n-alkane to produce high yields erf dtric add-producing Candida spp. and to harvest two useful end products rather than just one. The process has not been commerdally successful however. Candida spp. produce mixtures of dtric add and isodtric add and the latter is not a useful product. In addition, since 1973 when petroleum prices rose sharply and have in fact continued to rise, the n-paraffins are no longer a cheap substrate. 

Several Candida spp. will metabolise hydrocarbons to produce fumaric add the exact process is not fully worked out although glycolysis and reverse TCA are central features of the biochemistry of the process. 

Due to the rapid appearance of resistance, 5FC is only used as a combination partner for the intensive therapy of established severe fungal infections caused by Candida spp., Cryptococcus neoformans and Aspergillus sp. Anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and or abdominal pain occur in 6% of the patients. Of greater concern is the potential for bone marrow depression (seen in 5% of the patients, all with elevated 5FC levels). 

Injection drug use also predisposes individuals to polymicrobial cellulitis. The antecubital region of the arm is usually the site of infection. S. aureus, the most common isolate, is frequently associated with abscess formation. Because some injection drug users lick their needles to clean them, antibiotics with anaerobic coverage should be used. Occasionally, Candida spp. are isolated, and the patient may require antifungal therapy.18... 

Chaudhury A, Nath G, Shukla B, Panda S, Singh TB Diarrhoea associated with Candida spp. Incidence and seasonal variation. J Diar-rhoealDisRes 1996 14 110—112. 

Clayton NE, Srinivasan VR (1981) Biodegradation of Lignin by Candida spp. Naturwis-... 

The urinary pathogens in complicated or nosocomial infections may include E. coli, which accounts for less than 50% of these infections, Proteus spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylococci, and enterococci. Candida spp. have become common causes of urinary infection in the critically ill and chronically catheterized patient. 

Pfaller MA, Boyken L, Hollis RJ, Messer SA, Tendolkar S, Diekema DJ. (2005) In vitro activities of anidulafungin against more than 2,500 clinical isolates of Candida spp., including 315 isolates resistant to fluconazole. J Clin Microbiol 43 5425-5427. 

Camacho A, Gasparetto A, Svidzinski IE. (2007) The effect of chlorhexidine and gentian violet on the adherence of Candida spp. to urinary catheters. Mycopathologia 165 261-266. 

V. M. Cooke, R. J. Miles, R. G. Price, G. Midgely, W. Khamri, and A. C. Richardson, A novel chromogenic ester agar medium for detection of Candida spp., Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 68 (2002) 3622-3627. 

Amphotericin B is used to treat systemic disseminated fungal infections caused by Candida spp., Cryptococcus neoformans, and the invasive dimorphic fungi Aspergillus spp., Histoplasma capsulatum, Coccidioides immi-tis, Blastomyces dermatitidis, and Sporothrix schenckii). Intravenous amphotericin B remains the treatment of choice for serious invasive fungal infections unresponsive to other agents. 

Amphotericin B remains the drug of choice in the treatment of invasive aspergillosis, locally invasive mucormycosis, and many disseminated fungal infections occurring in immunocompromised hosts (the patient population most at risk for serious fungal infections). For example, the febrile neutropenic oncology patient with persistent fever despite empirical antibacterial therapy is best treated with amphotericin B for possible Candida spp. sepsis. 

Fluconazole is very effective in the treatment of infections with most Candida spp. Thrush in the end-stage AIDS patient, often refractory to nystatin, clotrimazole, and ketoconazole, can usually be suppressed with oral fluconazole. AIDS patients with esophageal candidiasis also usually respond to fluconazole. A single 150-mg dose has been shown to be effective treatment for vaginal candidiasis. A 3-day course of oral fluconazole is effective treatment for Candida urinary tract infection and is more convenient than amphotericin B bladder irrigation. Preliminary findings suggest that Candida endophthalmitis can be successfully treated with fluconazole. Stable nonneutropenic patients with candidemia can be adequately treated with fluconazole, but unstable, immunosuppressed patients should initially receive... 

Significant drug interactions include cyclosporins (increased cyclosporine levels), phenytoin, rifampin, and rifabutin (decreased voriconazole levels). Because of its low toxicity profile, this drug may gain importance in the chronic treatment of infections with invasive dimorphic fungi and resistant Candida spp. 

Flucytosine has significant antifungal activity against C. albicans, other Candida spp., C. neoformans, and the fungal organisms responsible for chromomycosis. Not... 

Abstract A simple, accessible and cost effective method of crystallographic identification of microorganisms has been developed. It allows rapid and snfficiently reliable identification of many clinically significant pathogens based on their crystallogenic properties. The nse of the crystallographic method snbstantially accelerated and simplified the identification of Candida spp. when compared with traditional methods of identification of microorganisms. 

The modified method of crystal coating was used to assess Candida spp. The choice of the pathogen was stipulated by the growing importance of this microorganism in the development and maintenance of various pathological conditions, and the lack of quick and reliable methods to identify Candida spp. in practical laboratories. 

The crystallograms of Candida spp. showed characteristic structures in the form of a complex of crystals, in which axial lines with the lateral branches diverged from the comers, and differed for different species. Other differences were also revealed (see below), allowing the determination of a specific structure belonging to the investigated strain. 

The representative crystallograms of the studied species of Candida spp. (Fig. 11.1) were as following ... 

Following the same procedure, the crystallograms were characterized by high reproducibility. It normally takes 16-18 h to obtain crystallograms and to identify Candida spp., whereas traditional methods of identification Candida spp. usually... 

The use of the crystallographic method allows significantly acceleration and simplification in the identification of Candida spp. when compared with traditional methods of recognition of the given microorganisms. 

The use of the proposed crystallographic method accelerates and simplifies the identification of the Candida spp. when compared with conventional methods of their identification. 

Antimicrobial activity of the medication was determined by the agar diffusion method [4, 5]. A wide spectrum of pyogenic microflora (Table 16.1) as well as Candida spp. and Helicobacter pylori were studied as test cultures. 

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