thymoma is a term that should be restricted to neoplasms of thymic epithelial cells, irrespective of the presence or the number of lymphocytes. the usual location of thymoma is the antrosuperior mediastinum; however, this tumor can also occur in other mediastinal compartments, in the neck, within the thyroid gland, in the pericardial cavity, the pulmonary hilum, within the lung parenchyma, or t...

Topical treatment for oral candidiasis is not as effective when there is esophageal involvement. Topical treatments include nystatin, amphotericin B solution, and miconazole tablets. Systemic therapy given orally includes the azoles, of which fluconazole remains the most effective commonly prescribed. Voriconazole is effective against some resistant strains of Candida. Echinocandins, a newer cl...

Humans or mice subjected to immunosuppression, such as corticosteroids or anti-cytokine biologic therapies, are susceptible to mucosal infections by the commensal fungus Candida albicans. Recently it has become evident that the Th17/IL-17 axis is essential for immunity to candidiasis, but the downstream events that control immunity to this fungus are poorly understood. The CCAAT/Enhancer Bindin...

A passive hemagglutination inhibition assay was studied by using a hyperimmune serum from rabbits immunized with whole yeast cells (Candida albicans group A). This technique was effective at detecting small amounts of laboratory-prepared mannan or a whole-cell extract of C. albicans. Of 32 patients with documented disseminated candidiasis that were tested, 19 showed evidence of circulating anti...

A murine model of systemic candidiasis was used to assess the virulence of serial Candida albicans strains for which fluconazole MICs were increasing. Serial isolates from five patients with 17 episodes of oropharyngeal candidiasis were evaluated. The MICs for these isolates exhibited at least an eightfold progressive increase from susceptible (MIC < 8 microg/ml; range, 0.25 to 4 microg/ml) to ...

Current understanding of resistance and susceptibility to vulvovaginal candidiasis challenges existing paradigms of host defence against fungal infection. While abiotic biofilm formation has a clearly established role during systemic Candida infections, it is not known whether C. albicans forms biofilms on the vaginal mucosa and the possible role of biofilms in disease. In vivo and ex vivo muri...

Concentrations of arabinitol, mannose, and mannan in serum have independently been reported to be elevated in patients with invasive candidiasis. These three marker substances were compared in a rabbit model. Twelve rabbits, immunosuppressed with cortisone, were infected intravenously with Candida albicans 3181A. Six uninfected control animals also received cortisone, and four rabbits were neit...

When a diagnosis of invasive candidiasis has been made, treatment with toxic fungicidal agents is inevitable. The crucial decision of when to stop such treatment is difficult to make, because cultures are often negative despite ongoing invasive candidiasis and can therefore not be used as a reliable parameter of effective therapy. In the present study, the use of PCR in monitoring the therapeut...