Prevalence of fungal colonization among patients with psoriasis in difficult-to-treat areas: impact of apremilast on mycotic burden and clinical outcomes.

Introduction: Fungi, including , may be a trigger or exacerbate psoriasis, especially in difficult to treat (DTT) areas, through the activation of IL-17/23 axis.

Methods: In this study, seventy patients with DDT psoriasis were enrolled to evaluate species and/or other opportunistic fungi colonization rate at baseline (T0) and the impact of apremilast on fungal load, clinical outcome, serum cytokine levels and biochemical serum profile of patients after 16, 24 and 52 weeks of treatment.

Results: In our population, 33 (47%) patients were colonized by spp.

Synergistic Effect of Metronidazole and Chlorhexidine against Growth: An In Vitro Study.

To evaluate the potential synergistic activity of metronidazole (MTZ) and chlorhexidine (CHX) against growth. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests of to MTZ and CHX were performed on in vitro serial 2-fold dilutions of MTZ (from 1 mg/mL to 0.015 mg/mL) and CHX (from 1 mg/mL to 0.

Complex: The Current State of Infections and Drug Resistance in Humans.

In recent years, the incidence of fungal infections in humans has increased dramatically, accompanied by an expansion in the number of species implicated as etiological agents, especially environmental fungi never involved before in human infection. Among fungal pathogens, species are the most common opportunistic fungi that can cause local and systemic infections, especially in immunocompromised individuals. () is the most common causative agent of mucosal and healthcare-associated systemic infections.

Green Nail Syndrome Treated with Ozenoxacin: Two Case Reports.

Green nail syndrome (GNS) is a persistent greenish pigmentation of the nail plate, originally described in 1944 by Goldman and Fox, due to infection. Recently, pulmonary co-infection of and spp. has been described in patients with cystic fibrosis.

Closing the Gap in Proteomic Identification of : A Case Report and Review of Literature.

Histoplasmosis is a globally distributed systemic infection caused by the dimorphic fungus (). This fungus can cause a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, and the diagnosis of progressive disseminated histoplasmosis is often a challenge for clinicians. Although microscopy and culture remain the gold standard diagnostic tests for identification, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has emerged as a method of microbial identification suitable for the confirmation of dimorphic fungi.

Rapid System to Detect Variants of SARS-CoV-2 in Nasopharyngeal Swabs.

Currently, the reference method for identifying the presence of variants of SARS-CoV-2 is whole genome sequencing. Although it is less expensive than in the past, it is still time-consuming, and interpreting the results is difficult, requiring staff with specific skills who are not always available in diagnostic laboratories. The test presented in this study aimed to detect, using traditional real-time PCR, the presence of the main variants described for the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 genome.

All-Trans Retinoic Acid Effect on Growth and Biofilm Formation.

Unlabelled: is the most common fungal pathogen causing recurrent mucosal and life-threatening systemic infections. The ability to switch from yeast to hyphae and produce biofilm are the key virulence determinants of this fungus. In fact, biofilms on medical devices represent the major risk factor for nosocomial bloodstream infections.

A new qualitative RT-PCR assay detecting SARS-CoV-2.

The world is facing an exceptional pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. To allow the diagnosis of COVID-19 infections, several assays based on the real-time PCR technique have been proposed. The requests for diagnosis are such that it was immediately clear that the choice of the most suitable method for each microbiology laboratory had to be based, on the one hand, on the availability of materials, and on the other hand, on the personnel and training priorities for this activity.

Immunomodulatory agents as potential therapeutic or preventive strategies for COVID-19.

Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, represents the greatest global health threat. Most people infected by the virus present mild to moderate respiratory symptoms and recover with supportive treatments. However, certain susceptible hosts develop an acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), associated with an inflammatory "cytokine storm", leading to lung damage.

Antifungal Effect of All- Retinoic Acid against Aspergillus fumigatus and in a Pulmonary Aspergillosis Model.

is the most common opportunistic fungal pathogen and causes invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), with high mortality among immunosuppressed patients. The fungistatic activity of all- retinoic acid (ATRA) has been recently described We evaluated the efficacy of ATRA and its potential synergistic interaction with other antifungal drugs. A rat model of IPA and experiments were performed to assess the efficacy of ATRA against in association with classical antifungal drugs and studies used to clarify its mechanism of action.

Antimicrobial properties of the medicinal plant Cardiospermum halicacabum L: new evidence and future perspectives.

The emergence and rapid spread of multidrug-resistance in human pathogenic microorganisms urgently require the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of infectious diseases. From this perspective, the antimicrobial properties of the natural plant-derived products may represent an important alternative therapeutic option to synthetic drugs. Among medicinal plants, the Cardiospermum halicacabum L.

(1-3)-β-D-Glucan vs Galactomannan Antigen in Diagnosing Invasive Fungal Infections (IFIs).

Invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are serious and often life-threatening complications in patients with haematological malignancies. Early diagnosis and the initiation of efficacious antifungal treatments could affect the prognosis of these patients. The detection of (1-3)-β-D-Glucan (BDG) could be a promising non-culture-based, noninvasive tool for IFI analyses in haemato-oncological patients, allowing the diagnosis of the two major IFIs, invasive aspergillosis (IA) and invasive candidiasis (IC), with a single test.

The combined use of VIGI@ct (bioMérieux) and fluorescent amplified length fragment polymorphisms in the investigation of potential outbreaks.

Even with good surveillance programmes, hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are not always recognized and this may lead to an outbreak. In order to reduce this risk, we propose a model for prompt detection of HAIs, based on the use of a real-time epidemiological information system called VIGI@ct (bioMèrieux, Las Balmas, France) and on the rapid confirmation or exclusion of the genetic relationship among pathogens using fluorescent amplified length fragment polymorphism (f-AFLP) microbial fingerprinting. We present the results of one year's experience with the system, which identified a total of 306 suspicious HAIs.

Performance of strand displacement amplification assay in the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

This study is a critical analysis of certain amplification assays for detecting Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections which have demonstrated that the plasmid-free variant of C. trachomatis is frequently responsible for infection in our patients. Specifically, we evaluated the performance of the strand displacement amplification (SDA) assay in detecting either C.

Use of the MicroSeq 500 16S rRNA gene-based sequencing for identification of bacterial isolates that commercial automated systems failed to identify correctly.

Reliable automated identification and susceptibility testing of clinically relevant bacteria is an essential routine for microbiology laboratories, thus improving patient care. Examples of automated identification systems include the Phoenix (Becton Dickinson) and the VITEK 2 (bioMerieux). However, more and more frequently, microbiologists must isolate "difficult" strains that automated systems often fail to identify.

Detection of clarithromycin-resistant Helicobacter pylori in stool samples.

The recognition of the role of Helicobacter pylori in gastric diseases has led to the widespread use of antibiotics in the eradication of this pathogen. The most advocated therapy, triple therapy, often includes clarithromycin. It is well known that clarithromycin resistance is one of the major causes of eradication failure.

Simple enzymatic method for rapid identification of a Staphylococcus aureus subspecies aureus biovar.

In order to correctly identify a new biovar of Staphylococcus aureus subsp, aureus, (NBSA) a simple, rapid, and reliable enzymatic assay was developed. The assay was based on the detection of the production of three enzymes: alpha-glucosidase, beta-glucosidase and beta-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase. Of a total of 46 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus subsp.