Some free-living amoebae are a potential threat to human health. The best known species are those of the genus Acanthamoeba Volkonsky, 1931, which cause Acanthamoeba keratitis, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis and other forms of tissue inflammation. The aim of the present study was to search for potential pathogenic genotypes of free-living amoeba in the sand in children’s playgrounds. Our re...

Acanthamoeba can cause fatal granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) and eye keratitis. However, the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of these emerging diseases remain unclear. In this study, the effects of Acanthamoeba on the host cell cycle using human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) and human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) were determined. Two isolates of Acanthamoeba belongi...

PURPOSE Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a painful and potentially blinding corneal infection caused by Acanthamoeba spp. In Madrid, environmental studies have demonstrated a high presence of these free-living amoebae in tap water. Since most of AK cases occur in contact lenses (CL) wearers with inadequate hygiene habits, the presence of Acanthamoeba in discarded CL has been studied and compared ...

OBJECTIVES To establish that the protozoan Acanthamoeba is one of the causative organisms associated with non-contact lens-related keratitis in the Indian population and to develop a simple and sensitive diagnostic assay for clinical testing. DESIGN DNA sequencing of nuclear 18S and 26S ribosomal DNA motifs was performed and compared with the reference Acanthamoeba strains, to establish the g...

BACKGROUND In this study morphological and molecular characterization of Acanthamoeba strains, isolated from dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) were surveyed and the levels of disinfection achievable in vitro by the application of ozone disinfectant to DUWLs were evaluate. METHODS Water samples were collected from air-water syringes, cup fillers and tap water before and at the end of the working ...

Free-living amoebae of the genus Acanthamoeba can cause severe and chronic infections in humans, mainly localized in immune privileged sites, such as the brain and the eye. Monocytes/macrophages are thought to be involved in Acanthamoeba infections, but little is known about how these facultative parasites influence their functions. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of Acantha...

background: in this study morphological and molecular characterization of acan­thamoeba strains, isolated from dental unit waterlines (duwls) were surveyed and the levels of disinfection achievable in vitro by the application of ozone disinfect­ant to duwls were evaluate. methods: water samples were collected from air-water syringes, cup fillers and tap water before and at the end of the workin...

backgrund: free-living amoebae belonging to the genus acanthamoeba have an environmental distribution. amoebic keratitis due to these protozoan parasites continue to rise in iran and worldwide. in iran, there are various researches regard-ing both morphological and molecular identification of acanthamoeba spp. in envi-ronmental and clinical samples. however, there is no thorough review about ac...

We report the case of a 76-year old Filipino male who presented with pain, redness, and blurring of vision of the right eye. Corneal scraping was done and sent to the St. Luke's Research and Biotechnology Group for detection and identification of the infectious agent. Morphological detection was performed by allowing the organism from the scraping to grow in 1.5% non-nutrient agar plate with he...

background : acanthamoeba- bacteria interactions enable pathogenic bacteria to tolerate harsh conditions and lead to transmission to the susceptible host. the present study was aimed to address the presence of bacterial endosymbionts of acanthamoeba isolated from recreational water sources of tehran, iran. to the best of our knowledge this is the first study regarding occurrence of bacteria in ...