PURPOSE To determine the role of contact lenses, corneal trauma, and Langerhans cells in the development of keratitis caused by Acanthamoeba organisms in Chinese hamsters. METHODS Various methods were used to induce corneal infections in Chinese hamsters, including application of parasite-laden contact lenses. The role of corneal epithelial defects in promoting parasite binding was examined i...

ABSTR ACT: Aspergillus and Acanthamoeba cause central nervous system (CNS) infection mostly in immunocompromised hosts, disseminating via the hematogenous route from a primary focus in the respiratory tract. We are presenting a case of an immunocompetent patient diagnosed with Aspergillus and Acanthamoeba coinfection of the CNS, a rare finding. A positive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) galactomannan...

OBJECTIVES Amoebic keratitis is difficult to treat, without total efficacy in some patients because of cysts that are less susceptible than trophozoites to the usual treatments. We investigated here the in vitro effectiveness of caspofungin, a new antifungal, against three species of Acanthamoeba. METHODS Trophozoites and cysts of Acanthamoeba castellanii, Acanthamoeba culbertsoni and Acantha...

background: the free-living amoebae acanthamoeba spp. have been recognized as etiologic agents of amoebic encephalitis, keratitis, otitis, lung lesions and other skin infections mainly in immuno-compromised individuals. the purpose of this study is to detect the presence of acanthamoeba in swimming pools in egypt using a polymerase chain reaction (pcr) method. methods: water samples were collec...

Abstract Free-living amoebae (FLA) are protozoa dispersed in different environments and responsible for infections caused to humans other animals. Microorganisms such as Acanthamoeba spp., Vermamoeba sp., Naegleria sp. associated with diseases that affect the central nervous system, addition skin keratitis, occurs genus vermiformis. Due concerns of these FLA anthropogenic aquatic environments, ...

PURPOSE Acanthamoeba keratitis is associated with keratocyte depletion in humans. We investigated how Acanthamoebae isolated from corneas affected by Acanthamoeba keratitis interacted with human corneal stromal cells in vitro. METHODS Acanthamoebae were isolated from 6 patients with Acanthamoeba keratitis and genotyping was done. Whether the isolated Acanthamoebae could invade the corneal str...

BACKGROUND Members of the genus Acanthamoeba are widely distributed throughout the world, and some of them are considered pathogenic, as they are capable of causing corneal and central nervous system diseases. In this study, we isolated Acanthamoeba strains from soil and tap water in Yanji, China. METHODS We identified four strains of Acanthamoeba (CJY/S1, CJY/S2, CJY/S3, and CJY/W1) using mi...

In this study, 15 Acanthamoeba isolates from AK patients and 10 environmental samples (water, soil and animal-origin samples) were classified at the genotype level based on the sequence analysis of the Diagnostic Fragment 3 (DF3) of Acanthamoeba small subunit rRNA gene. The obtained results revealed that most of these Acanthamoeba strains belonged to genotype T4 both in clinical and environment...

Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a sight-threatening infection of the cornea disease that often presents with a lengthy and not fully effective treatment. Current therapeutic options against Acanthamoeba are not very effective against the cyst. Calibrated trophozoite/cyst suspension was incubated with the same volume of serial dilutions of the Trigonella foenum graecum aqueous extract (200, 250, ...