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Biomedical subjects

J Faergemann

Publications and source records attributed to J Faergemann.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Seborrhoeic dermatitis and Pityrosporum orbiculare: treatment of seborrhoeic dermatitis of the scalp with miconazole-hydrocortisone (Daktacort), miconazole and hydrocortisone.

Seventy patients (36 males and 34 females) with seborrhoeic dermatitis of the scalp were treated in a double-blind controlled study, for a maximum of 6 weeks, with 2% miconazole base and 1% hydrocortisone (Daktacort), 2% miconazole base, or 1% hydrocortisone. Patients who were cured were treated with the same formulation prophylactically twice monthly for 3 months or until recurrence. Nineteen of 21 patients were cured in the Daktacort group, 15 of 22 in the miconazole group and 17 of 24 in the hydrocortisone group. The number of cultured Pityrosporum orbiculare was significantly lower in all groups after treatment, but in the hydrocortisone group was still significantly higher than in the two other groups. After 3 months of prophylactic treatment, both Daktacort (16 of 19 patients clear) and miconazole (10 of 15 patients clear) were significantly better than hydrocortisone (3 of 17 patients clear) (P less than 0.01). The numbers of P. orbiculare remained low in the Daktacort and miconazole groups and also significantly lower than in the hydrocortisone-treated group (P less than 0.01). In patients with recurrence, the numbers returned to pre-treatment levels. This study demonstrates the aetiological significance of the Pityrosporum yeasts in seborrhoeic dermatitis. Both Daktacort and miconazole were effective in treatment and as prophylactic agents.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Fungal infections inducing HLA-DR but not HLA-DQ transplantation antigens on keratinocytes.

The phenotypes of infiltrating cells and class II transplantation antigens on keratinocytes in candida and dermatophyte lesions from 15 patients were analysed in situ with an immunohistochemical double staining technique combined with periodic acid-Schiff staining. In five out of ten biopsies from candida lesions and in one of five biopsies from dermatophyte lesions the keratinocytes expressed HLA-DR but not HLA-DQ antigens. The HLA-DR expression was patchy in all and most pronounced in two candida biopsies which also contained large infiltrates of anti-Leu 3a reactive T lymphocytes. The induction of detectable amounts of different class II antigens on keratinocytes might depend on the type of antigen, the magnitude and duration of the response elicited and/or the immunological state of the patient.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Current treatment of cutaneous Pityrosporum and Candida-infections.

Pityrosporum and Candida-yeasts are opportunistic pathogens and infections require predisposing factors. These factors are also of major importance in treatment and the reason for recurrence and sometimes chronicity of the disease caused by these yeasts. Pityrosporum orbiculare and P.ovale are both lipophilic, probably identical, and both are members of the normal human cutaneous flora. In pityriasis versicolor they change from the blastospore form to the mycelial form. My favourite treatment for pityriasis versicolor is propylene glycol 50% in water applied with a gauze pad twice daily for 2 weeks. This will clear 95-100%. Other treatment modalities are: zinc pyrithione shampoo, selenium sulfide shampoo and the imidazoles. For extensive cases, patients who frequently relapse, and infections refractary to other treatments ketoconazole orally may be an effective alternative both therapeutically and prophylactically. In another disease caused by these yeasts, Pityrosporum folliculitis, both propylene glycol and ketoconazole are effective. Although Candida species are only seldom found on normal-looking skin predisposing factors are still the main reason for disease. Under the influence of these factors the organism changes from the blastospore to the mycelial form. The main predisposing factors important to control are: occlusion, underlying skin diseases, diabetes mellitus and immunodeficiency diseases. The imidazoles in a cream vehicle are very effective for many infections and applied for 2-3 weeks they will clear most lesions. The addition of a corticosteroid to the imidazole will not shorten the time of treatment but will give a more prompt symptomatic relief. In extensive cutaneous lesions and lesions refractary to other treatments ketoconazole is an effective alternative.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1985

Pityrosporum folliculitis: a common disease of the young and middle-aged.

Fifty-one patients, thirty-nine women and twelve men, with Pityrosporum folliculitis are described. This investigation clearly demonstrates that Pityrosporum folliculitis is a real entity. The diagnosis is based primarily on the clinical picture, direct microscopy, histopathology, and the effect of antimycotic treatment. The typical patient is a woman of 30 years with itching follicular papules and pustules localized to the upper trunk or upper arms. Direct microscopy reveals round yeast cells and sometimes even hyphae. In biopsy specimens, abundant round budding yeast cells and occasionally hyphae are seen in a dilated follicle. Yeast growth is obtained only on lipid-enriched media. Twenty-five patients were treated with selenium sulfide shampoo, twelve with 50% propylene glycol in water, and ten with topical econazole cream with good results. Cure or marked improvement was seen after 3 to 4 weeks, but symptoms and lesions recurred if treatment was not continued intermittently. Predisposing factors such as occlusion and greasy skin are probably important, and future studies should focus on fungal hypersensitivity, quantitative variations in the number of Pityrosporum orbiculare, lipid composition of the skin, and extended epidemiologic data.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1984

The Pityrosporon yeasts. Their role as pathogens.

P. orbiculare (P. ovale), a member of the normal human cutaneous flora, is also an opportunistic pathogen, and the association with tinea versicolor is well-documented. Recently, the Pityrosporon yeasts have been associated with several other diseases. That Pityrosporon folliculitis is a separate disease is now documented. The association with CRP and with some cases of psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis seem probable but are not yet fully proven. Reports show that P. orbiculare (P. ovale) are involved not only in dermatologic diseases, again indicating that the organisms are not "harmless" saprophytes. Because of our awareness of this association, more cases of systemic infections with Pityrosporon yeasts may be reported.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Quantitative culture of Pityrosporon orbiculare.

The author describes for the first time a method to culture Pityrosporon orbiculare quantitatively. Different nonionic detergents were studied for their in vitro effect to minimize aggregation of P. orbiculare. Triton X-100 0.1% had only a slight inhibitory effect when the organism was held less than 2 hours. A critical point in quantitative culturing of P. orbiculare seems to be the medium. With this medium, solitary colonies and optimal growth are achieved. No statistically significant differences were found in quantitative cultures from lesions and normal skin in patients with tinea versicolor, but this was observed when quantitative cultures from lesions and normal skin in patients with tinea versicolor were compared with healthy controls.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Phenotypic characterization in situ of inflammatory cells in pityriasis (tinea) versicolor.

The cellular response in pityriasis (tinea) versicolor lesions was analysed in situ with an immunohistochemical double staining technique combined with periodic acid-Schiff staining in frozen sections of skin biopsies from 9 patients. The proportions of B and T cells and subpopulations of T cells in the blood were normal as were the proliferative responses of blood mononuclear cells against various B- and T-cell mitogens and antigens. Fungi were observed in stratum corneum in all lesions, and there were moderate cell infiltrates in both epidermis and dermis as compared to biopsies from normal-looking skin. The majority of the infiltrating perivascular cells reacted with anti-Leu 1 antibodies (all mature peripheral T cells). Anti-Leu 2a reactive cells ('suppressor/cytotoxic' phenotype) were few and scattered, whereas anti-Leu 3a reactive cells ('helper/inducer' phenotype) dominated. This investigation demonstrates that pityriasis versicolor is not a simple overgrowth of the fungus in stratum corneum, but is accompanied by infiltrating immunocompetent cells in both epidermis and dermis.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Adherence of Pityrosporum orbiculare to human stratum corneum cells.

This investigation demonstrates the capacity of Pityrosporum orbiculare to adhere to human stratum corneum cells in vitro; this may be an important initial step in its colonization of stratum corneum. Adherence was significantly higher when incubation for 120 min (mean 9.4 adherent yeasts) was compared to 60 min (mean 3.5 adherent yeasts, P less than 0.001), but not to 90 min (mean 8.6 adherent yeasts, P greater than 0.05). Adherence was higher at an incubation temperature of 37 degrees C (mean 10.0 adherent yeasts) as compared with 25 degrees C (mean 4.0, P less than 0.001), but not at 32 degrees C (mean 8.0, P greater than 0.1). There was no significant difference in adherence related to the anatomic area (forearm, back, and chest) from which the stratum corneum cells have been collected. No difference was seen in adherence between different Pityrosporum strains, but it increased significantly with inoculum size of P. orbiculare, being optimal at 10(7) cells ml-1. The adherence of P. orbiculare and Staphylococcus epidermidis to stratum corneum cells was not influenced by incubation of the organisms together or alone. This model opens possibilities to study the influence of: stratum corneum cells from diseased skin compared with controls; antibodies; and types of surface receptors and antimycotics on P. orbiculare adherence to stratum corneum cells.

Humans↗
PubMed1983

Skin occlusion: effect on Pityrosporum orbiculare, skin PCO2, pH, transepidermal water loss, and water content.

The effect of 8 days skin occlusion on Pityrosporum orbiculare, bacteria, skin PCO2, pH, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and water content (WC) was studied. P. orbiculare counts increased from a baseline of 2.1 X 10(2)/cm2 to 2.3 X 10(3)/cm2 after 3 days occlusion; bacterial counts increased from 2.9 X 10(3)/cm2 to 1.8 X 10(5)/cm2 after 8 days occlusion. pH increased during occlusion from 5.6 to a maximum at day 3 of 6.7; TEWL increased to a maximum of 11.74 g m-2 h- after 3 days occlusion compared with 4.39 g m-2 h-1 before. P. orbiculare counts, pH, and TEWL were lower at 8 days than at 3 days occlusion. WC and PCO2 remained high after 8 days; relative WC was then 60.6% compared with 52.5% before occlusion; PCO2 was 63.1 mm Hg compared with 53.1 mm Hg before occlusion. The increased levels of these factors may partially explain the higher risk of infection in occluded compared with non-occluded skin.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Antibodies to Pityrosporum orbiculare in patients with tinea versicolor and controls of various ages.

Sera from patients with tinea versicolor and controls of various ages were investigated with the indirect immunofluorescence technique for antibodies against Pityrosporum orbiculare, the etiologic agent of tinea versicolor. No differences in titers were observed between patients and adult controls. Also, there were no differences in antibody titers in the patient group with regard to age and sex, or to duration and distribution of lesions. A statistically significant difference in antibody titers was observed between adult controls and children, particularly the youngest. Antibodies against Candida albicans from randomly selected sera from the same groups showed the same tendency, although only statistically significant when children of 5 years or younger were compared with adult controls. This investigation indicates that although P. orbiculare is capable of inducing antibodies, these are not correlated to tinea versicolor but occur when an individual becomes colonized with the organism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Quantitative variations in distribution of Pityrosporum orbiculare on clinically normal skin.

The lipophilic yeast Pityrosporum orbiculare has been cultured quantitatively, in 10 volunteers, from clinically normal skin on the chest, back, upper arm, lower leg, and dorsal aspect of the hand. The highest count was on the back (mean 333/cm2) and chest (mean 327/cm2). This was statistically significant higher than on the upper arm (mean 21/cm2), lower leg (mean 13/cm2), and dorsal aspect of the hand (mean 2/cm2). The variations in number of P. orbiculare parallels both regional variations in sebum excretion and the distribution of tinea versicolor lesions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Growth and filament production of Pityrosporum orbiculare and P. ovale on human stratum corneum in vitro.

When Pityrosporum orbiculare and P. ovale were incubated with stratum corneum epithelial cells, suspended in phosphate-buffered saline for 90 min at 37 degrees C, short filaments were produced in 11-17.5% of the yeast cells. A successful culture of P. orbiculare and P. ovale on human stratum corneum in vitro is described. When the stratum corneum pieces were incubated for 5 days in an environment with 7% CO2, a picture resembling that seen microscopically in tinea versicolor was observed. Filaments were produced in 39-48% of P. orbiculare and P. ovale cells; the longest pseudohyphae, 40-60 microns, were produced by P. ovale. This culture method provides the possibility of studying the parasitic mycelium form of P. orbiculare and P. ovale in vitro. The influence of antimycotics, other drugs, and interaction with other microorganisms can be studied.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1983

Double-blind comparison of a zinc pyrithione shampoo and its shampoo base in the treatment of tinea versicolor.

A zinc pyrithione shampoo was compared with its shampoo base in the treatment of tinea versicolor. Forty patients with tinea versicolor were included in the study. The condition in twenty patients treated with the zinc pyrithione shampoo cleared; the condition in the remaining twenty patients treated with the shampoo base did not. No side effects were noted in any of the patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Antigenic similarities and differences in genus Pityrosporum.

Using the indirect immunofluorescence technique no differences were observed in intensity of staining when antisera against Pityrosporum orbiculare and P. ovale or IgG fractions of these were incubated with P. orbiculare and P. ovale cells. However, a weaker reaction was observed with these antisera and P. pachydermatis cells. With IgG fractions the nonspecific fluorescence was minimized. Fungal cells in biopsies from tinea versicolor lesions showed a brilliant staining with the IgG fractions of antisera against P. orbiculare. This investigation indicates a close antigenic relationship between all of the 3 Pityrosporum species. A common antigenicity was found between P. orbiculare and P. ovale cells as well as between P. orbiculare cells from culture and the fungal cells in biopsies from tinea versicolor lesions. This strongly suggests that these 2 species are identical with each other and with the organism found in tissue.

Animals↗