BACKGROUND Infestation by Demodex spp. in the palpebral edge follicles in humans is common. However, these mites are not routinely diagnosed in patients with or without ocular pathologies in Chile and their relevance is unclear. One of the eye diseases most related to infestation by Demodex spp. is blepharitis, a chronic inflammation of the eyelid margin with intermittent exacerbations, which i...

BACKGROUND Permethrin 5% cream used against human ectoparasites suggests that it may be effective in papulopustular rosacea. METHODS This study included 63 patients diagnosed as having papulopustular rosacea based on the clinical and histological findings. Patients were randomly assigned into permethrin (n = 23), metronidazole (n = 20) and placebo (n = 20) groups. Scores of erythema, telangie...

PURPOSE To report the corneal manifestations in eyes with Demodex infestation of the eyelids. DESIGN Noncomparative, interventional case series. METHODS This retrospective review included six patients with Demodex blepharitis who also exhibited corneal abnormalities, which led to suspicion of limbal stem cell deficiency in three cases. All patients received weekly lid scrubs with 50% tea tr...

BACKGROUND Demodex may cause chronic and refractory blepharitis with associated ocular surface problems, and its diagnosis and treatment can be quite challenging. In this study, our aim was to assess the efficacy of tea tree oil in Demodex treatment on caucasian patients in an industrialized region of Turkey, and to develop a systematic scoring system for extremely accurate diagnosis in the abs...

INTRODUCTION Intensive long-term studies of Demodex spp. (D.) and its role in chronic blepharits have been carried out in recent years by scientists from the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin. It has resulted in numerous publications, spurring a lot of interest worldwide. A few of the papers have been cited in leading American medical journals. In recent years many papers dealing with d...

PURPOSE To determine the active ingredient in tea tree oil (TTO) responsible for its reported killing effect on Demodex mites, the most common ectoparasite found in the human skin extending to the eye. METHODS Using a reported in vitro killing assay to measure the survival time of adult Demodex folliculorum up to 150 minutes, we have screened serial concentrations of 13 of the 15 known ingred...

Demodex folliculorum and brevis are commensal mites that live in low densities human pilosebaceous follicles as part of the normal adult microbiota, but give rise to demodicosis and, possibly, rosacea, when they proliferate excessively. This proliferation is favored by various factors, including age, marked immunosuppression, sebaceous gland hyperplasia, hypervascularization-related factors. To...