Efficacy of two novel antifungal lipopeptides, AF and AF of bacillomycin D family in murine models of invasive candidiasis, cryptococcosis, and aspergillosis.

Invasive fungal diseases are an important public health concern due to an increase in the at-risk population and high mortality associated with these infections. Managing invasive fungal infections poses a significant challenge given the limited antifungal options and the emergence of resistance in key fungal pathogens. Through a comprehensive approach, we evaluated the in vitro antifungal activity and the in vivo efficacy of two novel lipopeptides, AF and AF in murine models of disseminated candidiasis, cryptococcosis, and aspergillosis.

Albumin orchestrates a natural host defense mechanism against mucormycosis.

Mucormycosis is an emerging, life-threatening human infection caused by fungi of the order Mucorales. Metabolic disorders uniquely predispose an ever-expanding group of patients to mucormycosis via poorly understood mechanisms. Therefore, it is highly likely that uncharacterized host metabolic effectors confer protective immunity against mucormycosis.

A decision tree analysis to evaluate the optimal approach to screen allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in asthmatic patients.

Background: Various methods are available to screen for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) in asthma, but their comparative performance remains uncertain.

Objectives: To identify the optimal screening algorithm for ABPA in asthmatic patients and evaluate the crude cost of various diagnostic approaches.

Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis of prospectively collected data from consecutive adult asthmatic patients evaluated for ABPA.

Veronaea botryosa induced cutaneous phaeohyphomycosis in a renal transplant recipient- An intriguing report from India.

We describe a rare case of cutaneous phaeohyphomycosis by Veronaea botryosa in a renal transplant recipient from India. The patient presented with a nodule on the dorsum of right hand which resolved completely after 6 months of voriconazole therapy. The identity of the fungus was confirmed by sequencing internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of rDNA.

Evaluation of Fungitell (1,3)-β-D-glucan assay in tear samples for rapid diagnosis of fungal keratitis.

Fungal keratitis (FK) is a serious suppurative and ulcerative corneal infection leading to blindness and vision loss. Rapid diagnosis of FK can contribute to prompt clinical management with early recovery. The study aimed to standardize the detection of (1,3)-β-D-glucan (BDG) and establish the diagnostic cut-off concentration in tears of suspected FK patients along with non-infected controls.

Molecular epidemiology of seborrheic dermatitis/dandruff associated Malassezia species from northern India.

Malassezia is a commensal that sometimes becomes pathogenic under the influence of diverse factors. Several species of Malassezia are difficult to culture, making traditional methods of identification challenging. The problem with molecular typing of Malassezia in association with seborrheic dermatitis/dandruff (SD/D) arises due to the unavailability of these fastidious yeast cultures.

A rare case of keratitis due to co-infection with and T5 genotype.

Aims: This report summarizes clinical findings, diagnosis, management, and long term outcomes of a recalcitrant and keratitis.

Methods And Materials: An otherwise healthy male patient presented with a corneal infiltrate with predominantly fungal characteristics, but atypical in terms of progression. The infiltrate remained undiagnosed even after several scrapings, and aqueous tap cultures.

Evaluation of VITEK MS Version 3.0 MALDI-TOF for the identification of anaerobes, mycobacteria, Nocardia, and moulds.

Purpose: The identification of anaerobes, Mycobacterium and Nocardia species, and moulds by MALDI-TOF-MS remains a challenge. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of MALDI-TOF in the identification of these organisms.

Methods: A total of 382 strains, comprising 128 (33.

The minimal important difference of one-minute-sit-to-stand test in subjects with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis.

Background And Objective: There is a need for simple functional test to assess treatment response in chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) in resource-constrained settings. The one-minute-sit-to-stand test (1-min-STS) is one such test. However, the minimal important difference (MID) for 1-min-STS in subjects with CPA remains unknown.

Role of serial fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (18FDG-PET-CT) in assessing treatment response in treatment naïve chronic pulmonary aspergillosis subjects.

Background: The role of 2-deoxy-2-18(F) fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) in assessing treatment response in chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) remains to be determined.

Objective: To compare changes in FDG-PET/CT parameters in CPA subjects with treatment success or failure.

Methods: We treated consecutive treatment-naïve CPA subjects with six months of oral itraconazole.

Population prevalence of aspergillus sensitization and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in COPD subjects in North India.

Background: Sensitization to Aspergillus fumigatus (AS) has been recently described in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. However, there is no data on the community prevalence of AS in COPD.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence of AS among COPD subjects.

Prolonged treatment of dermatophytosis caused by Trichophyton indotinea with terbinafine or itraconazole impacts better outcomes irrespective of mutation in the squalene epoxidase gene.

Background: Over the past decades, the increasing incidence of recurrent dermatophytosis associated with terbinafine-resistant Trichophyton has posed a serious challenge in management of dermatophytosis. Independent reports of failure of treatment and high minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of antifungals are available, but data correlating MIC and clinical outcomes is still sparse. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the outcomes of systemic treatment of dermatophytosis and its correlation with MIC of the etiological agents isolated from such patients.

Comparative fitness trade-offs associated with azole resistance in clinical isolates.

Multidrug-resistant yeast is a serious threat to public health with documented survival in various hospital niches. The dynamics of this survival benefit and its trade off with drug resistance are still unknown for this pathogen. In this study we investigate the oxidative stress response (OSR) in fluconazole-resistant and compare its relative fitness with fluconazole-susceptible strains.

An interesting report of COVID-19 associated mucormycosis (CAM) cases by two different species of Mucorales.

During surge of COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM), we identified five cases of CAM where two different species of Mucorales were isolated. All had history of diabetes mellitus and presented with clinical features suggesting rhino-orbital mucormycosis. The patients grew different species from their nasal scraping/biopsy samples, Rhizopus arrhizus, R.

Clinical spectrum, phenotypic and molecular characterization, and antifungal susceptibility of an emerging human pathogen, Acrophialophora, from India.

Acrophialophora is implicated in superficial and invasive infections, especially in immunosuppressed individuals. The present study was undertaken to provide clinical, microbiological, phylogenetic, and antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST) profile of Acrophialophora isolated from India. All the isolates identified as Acrophialophora species at the National Culture Collection for Pathogenic Fungi, Chandigarh, India were revived.