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Korean Journal of Medical Mycology.1998;3(2):81-88.

The yeasts of the genus Malassezia, of which type species is Malassezia furfur(Robin) Baillon 1889, are dimorphic and lipophilic and are members of the normal cutaneous flora in humans. Early taxonomic descriptions of Malassezia yeasts were limited by the failure of investigators to culture this fungus and were based solely on micromorphological descriptions of the organism in skin samples. The culture could be possible only after the lipophilic nature of this fungus was demonstrated and the question of dimorphism was solved. Malassezia has been the genus name formally accepted for both phases of growth, mycelia(Malassezia) and yeasts(Malassezia). Variations in the morphology of Malassezia species were noted even some of the earliest descriptions of the organism in the skin. Stable morphological, physiological and immunological variants have been claimed and the taxonomic status of these has been becoming realized with the application of molecular techniques. Recently, the genus Malassezia was revised using morphology, ultrastructure, physiology and molecular biology by Gu ho et al.. As a result the genus has been enlarged to include seven species comprising M. furfur, M. pachydermatis, M. sympodialis, M. globosa, M. obtusa M. restricta and M. slooffiae. Malassezia yeasts reside predominantly in regions of high sebum excretion as members of the microbiological flora of the skin. Malassezia yeasts are also implicated in various diseases, including pityriasis versicolor, Malassezia folliculitis, seborrheic dermatitis and systemic fungal infections.
Classification* ; Dermatitis, Seborrheic ; Folliculitis ; Fungi ; Humans ; Malassezia* ; Molecular Biology ; Physiology ; Research Personnel ; Sebum ; Skin ; Tinea Versicolor ; Yeasts

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Fungi in Indoor Environment.

Hun Jun LEE

Korean Journal of Medical Mycology.1998;3(2):73-80.

The characters of modern buildings such as higher airtightness, frequent usage of artificial materials and artificial air conditionings provide suitable conditions for flourishing of microorganisms, especially fungi. Indoor fungi could produce unacceptable musty smells and cause structural damage of building. But the more serious effects are the threatening on human health. They could provoke several allergic diseases, sick building syndrome, organic dust toxic syndrome, and could be the important causative agents of infectious diseases in the immunocompromized host. This paper review the characters, physiology, epidemiology and isolation techniques of the indoor fungi to provide the basic ideas to control the indoor fungi.
Air Conditioning ; Communicable Diseases ; Dust ; Epidemiology ; Fungi* ; Humans ; Physiology ; Sick Building Syndrome ; Smell

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A Case of Localized Skin Infection Due to Scedosporium apiospermum Diagnosed by DNA Sequencing of the Internal Transcribed Spacer Region.

Ji Young YOO ; You Bum SONG ; Moo Kyu SUH ; Gyoung Yim HA ; Jong Im LEE ; Seung Hyun SOHNG

Korean Journal of Medical Mycology.2014;19(2):45-51.

Scedosporium apiospermum is an asexual state of Pseudallescheria boydii which has been isolated from soil, sewage, and decaying vegetation. It can cause cutaneous infections by traumatic implantation of the contaminant due to penetrating injury. This ubiquitous fungus cause not only mycetoma, but also infections of variety of body sites including the skin. The localized skin infection due to this organism is much rare than mycetoma. We report a case of cutaneous S. apiospermum infection occurred in 80-year-old male. The skin lesion was manifested by a 8.0 x 4.0 cm-sized erythematous plaque with pustules and crusts on the dorsum of right hand. The fungal culture from the biopsy specimen on Sabouraud's dextrose agar showed white to gray colored cottony colonies of S. apiospermum. The nucleotide sequence of internal transcribed spacer for clinical isolate was identical to that of S. apiospermum strain IHEM 23829. The patient was treated with oral fluconazole for 3 months.
Agar ; Aged, 80 and over ; Base Sequence ; Biopsy ; Fluconazole ; Fungi ; Glucose ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Mycetoma ; Pseudallescheria ; Scedosporium* ; Sequence Analysis, DNA* ; Sewage ; Skin* ; Soil

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Clinical Study of Dermatophytosis Caused by Microsporum canis.

Seok Hwan JANG ; Sook Jung YUN ; Jee Bum LEE ; Seong Jin KIM ; Seung Chul LEE ; Young Ho WON

Korean Journal of Medical Mycology.2014;19(2):39-44.

BACKGROUND: Microsporum (M.) canis is a zoophilic dermatophyte commonly acquired from cats or dogs, and it is the most common pathogen of tinea capitis in Korea. An increase in the incidence of M. canis infection has been observed after 1970s. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes in epidemiological features and clinical findings on M. canis infection. METHODS: We retrospectively carried out an analysis of 133 patients with M. canis infection among clinically suspected dermatophytosis during last 10 years, from 2001 to 2010. RESULTS: The isolation rate of M. canis was 5.9% of all isolated dermatophytes. The annual number of patients infected by M. canis has fluctuated between 8 and 22 and was highest in 2007. The infections were most prevalent in patients under the age of 10 years (51.1%). The ratio of male to female patients was 0.8:1 in total, but 1.1:1 in children under the age of 10 years, and 0.4:1 in adults. Seasonally, 58.6% (78 cases) occurred in winter and spring, which was more prevalent than in other seasons. The highest clinical type among dermatophytosis was tinea capitis (56.4%), and followed by tinea faciale (15.8%), and tinea corporis (15.0%). The incidence of patients with the noninflammatory lesions (68.3%) in tinea capitis was higher than inflammatory lesions (31.7%) in clinical characteristics. CONCLUSION: We analyzed the patients with dermatophytosis caused by M. canis during last 10 years, from 2001 to 2010, and their prevalence, seasonal changes, and clinical charateristics were demonstrated and compared with previous studies.
Adult ; Animals ; Arthrodermataceae ; Cats ; Child ; Dogs ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Microsporum* ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Seasons ; Tinea Capitis ; Tinea*

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Effectiveness of Home-use Light Emitting Diode Device for Seborrheic Dermatitis of the Scalp: a Preliminary Study.

Seung Myun KIM ; Seung Chul LEE ; Young Ho WON ; Jee Bum LEE

Korean Journal of Medical Mycology.2014;19(2):31-38.

BACKGROUND: Seborrheic dermatitis (SD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory disease, mainly affecting the scalp and face. The pathogenesis of SD has been not fully understood yet, but may be related to the skin colonization of Malassezia species, lipophilic yeasts. Phototherapy with light emitting diode (LED) device has been become a new therapeutic modality for some skin diseases such as acne. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate effectiveness and safety of phototherapy with home-use LED in the treatment of patients with SD of the scalp. METHODS: Eight patients with mild-to-moderate SD of the scalp participated. The patients used a home-use LED device combined 395 nm blue light with 660 nm red light for 6~7 min twice daily for 8 weeks. Patients' assessments were made by clinical findings including erythema (0~15), scales (0~15), itching (0~10), and lesional extent (0~15). And clinical photographs were taken at 0, 2, 4 and 8 weeks, respectively. RESULTS: At 8 weeks after LED treatment, erythema (7.75 to 5.13, p=0.018), scales (7.38 to 4.13, p=0.017), itching (6 to 3, p=0.011) and lesional extent (8.25 to 5.25, p=0.017) were significantly decreased, respectively. Satisfactory scores were also relatively high (mean 8.13 of 10). No severe adverse reaction was reported, excepting hair dryness (n=1) and brief stinging sense (n=1). CONCLUSION: Home-use LED was effective and safe in the treatment of SD of the scalp. These results suggest the LED device might be an adjuvant therapeutic tool in the treatment of Malassezia species associated diseases such as dandruff and SD. Further long-term and large-scale studies are required to assess the efficacy and safety of home-use LED.
Acne Vulgaris ; Bites and Stings ; Colon ; Dandruff ; Dermatitis, Seborrheic* ; Erythema ; Hair ; Humans ; Malassezia ; Phototherapy ; Pruritus ; Scalp* ; Skin ; Skin Diseases ; Weights and Measures ; Yeasts

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Efficacy of Trichloroacetic Acid in Patients with Toenail Onychomycosis: Pilot Study with 14 Patients.

Weon Ju LEE ; Kyung Hea PARK ; Chang Hyun SONG ; Seok Jong LEE ; Do Won KIM

Korean Journal of Medical Mycology.2014;19(2):25-30.

BACKGROUND: Various methods have been employed for treatment of onychomycosis. These methods can be categorized as topical, oral, or device-related. Among them, oral therapies have been regarded as the gold standard for treatment. However, the efficacy of oral therapies on onychomycosis remains limited and safety may be an issue, leaving many patients in need of alternative treatments. As an alternative treatment for onychomycosis, topical therapies are under investigation with great interest. OBJECTIVE: We conducted an investigation on the efficacy of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) as a new therapeutic option in treatment of onychomycosis. METHODS: Fourteen patients with onychomycosis in both great toenails, which was confirmed by fungal examination, were enrolled. About 0.1 ml of 100% TCA solution was applied on one great toenail of the patients eight times at an interval of one week. The other great toenail of the patients was treated with vehicle. RESULTS: At the end of the treatment period, clinical improvement of TCA-treated great toenails with onychomycosis was observed in eleven out of 14 patients. By contrast, no clinical improvement was observed in vehicle-treated great toenails with onychomycosis. Irritant contact dermatitis of the periungual nail folds occurred in 29% as an adverse effect. CONCLUSIONS: Topical solution of TCA may become a new therapeutic option for treatment of patients with onychomycosis who desire alternatives to oral antifungal agents.
Antifungal Agents ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Humans ; Nails* ; Onychomycosis* ; Pilot Projects* ; Trichloroacetic Acid*

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Six Cases of Tinea Capitis in Adults.

Chun Pill CHOI ; Mu Hyoung LEE

Korean Journal of Medical Mycology.2006;11(1):31-34.

Tinea capitis is a fungal infection of the scalp and hair. It is very common in children and unusual in adults. We evaluated the clinical and mycologic aspects of tinea capitis in 6 adult patients registered in Kyunghee University Hospital from January 2003 to December 2003. The isolated dermatophytic flora of the patients consisted of Trichophyton rubrum (83%) and Microsporum canis (17%). When tinea capitis occurs in adults the clinical features may be atypical and this may delay the diagnosis. The necessity for heightened clinical suspicion and diagnostic tenacity in the evaluation of adults with scalp dermatitis and/or alopecia for possible tinea capitis is underscored.
Adult* ; Alopecia ; Child ; Dermatitis ; Diagnosis ; Hair ; Humans ; Microsporum ; Scalp ; Tinea Capitis* ; Tinea* ; Trichophyton

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Intra-familial transmission of Trichophyton tonsurans.

Byung Cheol PARK ; Yoon Seok CHOI ; Weon Ju LEE ; Jae Bok JUN

Korean Journal of Medical Mycology.2006;11(1):27-30.

Trichophyton(T.) tonsurans was an anthropophilic dermatophyte and has not been prevalent in Korea yet. Especially the infection of non-athletic patient was very rare and only 7 cases have been reported so far in Korea. We report 1 case of tinea capitis and 2 cases of tinea faciei due to T. tonsurans in a family, i.e grandfather, grandmother and grandson. Grand father and grand mother had pruritic scaly erythematous macule on their face and grandson had a 10 x 10 cm sized alopecia with black dots on the scalp. We confirmed T. tonsurans in all cases based on the microscopic findings and fungal culture. Although we could not confirm the source and the exact transmission route, these patients are not athletes and none of them had contact history with any athletes. So we think that T. tonsurns might have been already spreading among general population of Korea.
Alopecia ; Arthrodermataceae ; Athletes ; Fathers ; Humans ; Korea ; Mothers ; Scalp ; Tinea ; Tinea Capitis ; Trichophyton*

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Antifungal Activity of the Extract from Paeonia japonica against Candida albicans.

Inwha SEONG

Korean Journal of Medical Mycology.2006;11(1):19-26.

BACKGROUND: Candida albicans is one of the normal flora of the skin, mucous membranes and gastrointestinal tract. Vaginal candidiasis remains a significant problem in women of childbearing age, majority of the cases are caused by C. albicans and recurrence is common in spite of topical treatment. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to develop the antifungal agent from the medicinal herbs traditionally used in Korea. METHODS: In this study, extracts from roots of Paeonia japonica were examined for antifungal activities against C. albicans. Dried roots of Paeonia japonica were extracted with dichloromethane, methanol, water respectively and serially. Liquid column chromatography and thin layer chromatography were used to separate the fractions with antifungal activity, and mass spectrometric analysis was done to determine the mass. RESULTS: Dichloromethane extract showed the highest antifungal activity aginst C. albicans. Result of fractionation and mass spectrometric analysis revealed that there were six materials: propanal, cytidine, hexadecanoic acid, cholesterol, octadecanoic acid and a unidentified material. CONCLUSION: Dichloromethane extract from Paeonia japonica could be a candidate for a new antifungal agent against C. albicans.
Candida albicans* ; Candida* ; Candidiasis ; Cholesterol ; Chromatography ; Chromatography, Thin Layer ; Cytidine ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Korea ; Methanol ; Methylene Chloride ; Mucous Membrane ; Paeonia* ; Palmitic Acid ; Plants, Medicinal ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Water

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Identification of Candida Species by Analysis of rRNA Spacer Regions.

Mi Kyung LEE ; Hye Ryoun KIM ; Byung In RO

Korean Journal of Medical Mycology.2006;11(1):13-18.

BACKGROUND: The genus Candida comprises 163 species, the most common pathogen in the genus is C. albicans, however, other Candida species are considered as emergent pathogens. Because there are species-specific differences in the susceptibility of Candida spp. to the currently used therapeutic drugs, species identification is critical for therapeutic planning and accurate epidemiological records. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of tRNA intergenic length polymorphism (tDNA-ILP) analysis for the accurate identification of Candida species. METHODS: For the identifying the 7 type strains and 54 clinical isolates of Candida, the suitability of tDNA-ILP was evaluated. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a pair of primers or a single primer was performed. The PCR products were separated by electrophoresis in 2% agarose gels for 70 min. RESULTS: In seven Candida type strains, tDNA-ILP using a single primer (reverse) can be easily analyzed by visual comparision. Fifty-three of 54 strains were identified as the same species with conventional identification. CONCLUSIONS: The tDNA-ILP analysis can be useful for the simple and rapid identification of Candida species in routine laboratories.
Candida* ; Electrophoresis ; Gels ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; RNA, Transfer ; Sepharose

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