The majority of the keratitis-causing Acanthamoeba isolates are genotype T4. In an attempt to determine whether predominance of T4 isolates in Acanthamoeba keratitis is due to greater virulence or greater prevalence of this genotype, Acanthamoeba genotypes were determined for 13 keratitis isolates and 12 environmental isolates from Iran. Among 13 clinical isolates, eight (61.5%) belonged to T4,...

Acanthamoeba are opportunistic protozoan parasites that can cause painful, visionthreatening keratitis. However the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of Acanthamoeba keratitis remain incompletely understood. Most cases of Acanthamoeba keratitis develop as a result of poor hygiene in contact lens care but it is unclear how amoebae transmigrate from the environment into the cornea leading to infla...

Purpose. Acanthamoeba keratitis remains a difficult diagnosis despite advances in genetic and imaging technologies. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the utility of cytology smears for diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis. Methods. This is a case study of the diagnostic course for a patient with suspected Acanthamoeba keratitis. Results. A 40-year-old male with poor contact lens hygiene ...

PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to describe the diagnosis, course, and outcome of a case of Acanthamoeba and Stenotrophomonas keratitis with a fungal keratitis in the contralateral eye. METHODS A case of Acanthamoeba and Stenotrophomonas keratitis was diagnosed with confocal microscopy and cultures with confocal diagnosis of fungal keratitis in the fellow eye. RESULTS During the initia...

Identification of Acanthamoeba cysts and trophozoites in ocular tissues requires considerable expertise and is often time-consuming. An 18S rRNA gene-based PCR test, highly specific for the genus Acanthamoeba, has recently been reported in the molecular diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis. This PCR assay was compared with conventional microbiological tests for the diagnosis of Acanthamoeba kera...

Three patients, women aged 69, 25 and 30 years, with refractory keratitis were found to have a rare infection with Acanthamoeba. All wore soft contact lenses. The frequency of Acanthamoeba keratitis increased in recent years. At present, an efficacious antiprotozoal therapy is available, for instance in the form of polyhexamethylene biguanide and propamidine. In cases of refractory keratitis, t...

PURPOSE Acanthamoeba keratitis is associated with keratocyte depletion in humans. We investigated how Acanthamoebae isolated from corneas affected by Acanthamoeba keratitis interacted with human corneal stromal cells in vitro. METHODS Acanthamoebae were isolated from 6 patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis and genotyping was done. Whether the isolated Acanthamoebae could invade the corneal str...

purpose: to determine the sensitivity and specificity of confocal scan in the diagnosis of fungal and acanthamoeba keratitis based on the results of corneal and/or contact lens case smear and culture. method: confocal scan and corneal and/or contact lens case smear and culture were performed in all patients with a clinical diagnosis of infectious keratitis who were referred to labbafinejad medi...

Introduction: Acanthamoeba is an opportunistic protist, which is ubiquitously distributed in the environment. Infection with Acanthamoeba spp. poses threat to human health, such as, Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) that is a vision-threatening infection of the cornea. This study aimed to identify the species of Acanthamoeba strains isolated from cornea of keratitis patients by polymerase chain react...