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fungal infections

Wednesday 14 April 2004

mycoses, mycosis, fungal diseases, fungal infections

Definition: Fungal infections are called mycoses. Fungi are eukaryotes that grow predominantly by budding (yeasts) or by filamentous extensions called hyphae (molds).

The distinction between yeasts and molds is not absolute and is based on the usual morphology of the organism. Some fungi, such as Candida albicans, tend to grow predominantly as yeast but may also form hyphae.

Dimorphic fungi have both a yeast form (at human body temperature) and a mold form (at room temperature). Some of the fungi that can cause disseminated disease are discussed below. Others are discussed in other chapters, depending on the primary organ involved.

Examples

- histoplasmosis (Histoplasma capsulatum )
- cryptococcosis (Cryptococcus neoformans )
- blastomycosis (Blastomyces dermatidis )
-  coccidioidomycosis (Coccidioides immitis )
- paracoccidioidomycosis (Paracoccidioides brasiliensis )
- aspergillosis (Aspergillus sp. Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger )
- zygomycosis or mucormycosis (Mucor sp. , Rhizopus sp. )
- candidiasis (Candida sp. )
- sporotrichosis (Sporothrix schenckii )
- torulopsosis (Torulopsis glabrata )
- fusariosis (Fusarium sp. )
- pseudoallescheriasis (Pseudoallescheria boydii )
- adiaspiromycosis (Chrysosporium parvum var crescens )
- malasseziasis (Malassezia furfur )
- scedosporiosis (Scedosporium apiospermum )

- dermatophytoses / dermatophytic infections

According to the localization

- systemic fungal infection (disseminated fungal infection )
- cutaneous fungal infections
- pulmonary fungal infections
- splenic fungal infections
- renal fungal infections
- digestive fungal infections

See also

- hyphes / pseudohyphes
- invasive fungal infections

  • refractory invasive fungal infections

Links

- Mycology Online

- Infections fongiques (fungal infections) (in french) by Pierre Brochu, MD, Université de Montréal, QC

- Fungal genomes: Wiki and blog

- Infections fongiques (fungal infections) (in french) by Pierre Brochu, MD, Université de Montréal, QC

References

- Casadevall A, Pirofski LA. Polysaccharide-containing conjugate vaccines for fungal diseases. Trends Mol Med. 2005 Nov 22; PMID: 16309965

- Lupetti A, Nibbering PH, Campa M, Del Tacca M, Danesi R. Molecular targeted treatments for fungal infections: the role of drug combinations. Trends Mol Med. 2003 Jun;9(6):269-76. PMID: 12829016

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