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Impact
Candidiasis is a fungal infection caused by Candida albicans, which lives
in the mouth, gastrointestinal tract, and vagina without causing symptoms.
Symptoms develop as C. albicans becomes overgrown in these sites. About
75% of adult women have had at least one episode of vaginal infection during
their lifetimes. Incidence is 8 cases per 100,000 in the general population.
Newborns and people with weakened immune systems, particularly AIDS patients,
may develop an oral infection known as thrush. Unchecked growth of a person's
own yeast organisms can occur when the host environment becomes imbalanced or
the immune system is compromised. Such infections are an exceptional problem for
patients with HIV/AIDS or organ transplant, for whom resistance to drugs is a
growing, though not widely addressed, issue. Candidiasis is the 4th most common
cause of hospital acquired bloodstream infections.
Symptoms
Infections in each site have different symptoms. People with oral infections
have white patches in the mouth, with pain and difficulty swallowing. Women with
vaginal infections experience itching or burning, and may have some vaginal
discharge. Men may have an itchy rash on the genital area.
SBRI's Role
SBRI has made a number of critical discoveries that cast light on the
cellular effects of drug resistance and on basic mechanisms that trigger the
onset and virulence of Candida and other opportunistic infections. With drug
resistance, genetic changes occur within the cell, rendering it resistant to the
initial drug and other similar drugs. The accumulation of drug within the cell
is reduced when at least two types of biological pumps are activated and begin
evacuating drug from the cell. How these events are triggered and regulated is
the subject of continuing investigation. SBRI scientists have reported that high
doses of antifungal drugs over a short time, rather than low doses over a long
time, significantly decrease the incidence of resistance.
Theodore White, Ph.D., focuses on
pathogenic yeasts including Candida albicans, the causative agent of oral
thrush (candidiasis). His lab recently discovered that yeasts use sterols
related to cholesterol in their membranes in the same way that humans use
cholesterol. This illuminates how antifungal drugs work and provides interesting
new drug targets to treat fungal infections.
Links:
CDC
Candidiasis fact sheet
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