Antifungal susceptibility and phenotypic characterization of oral isolates of a black fungus from a nasopharyngeal carcinoma patient under radiotherapy

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The use of optical coherence tomography in the assessment of diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy

This review was performed to assess the use of optical coherence tomography in diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy and its application in the diagnosis and management of these conditions. A comprehensive literature search on MEDLINE was performed for studies published until 2013 with key words 'diabetes mellitus', 'optical coherence tomography', 'diabetic retinopathy', 'diabetic maculopathy', 'intersessional repeatability', 'diurnal variation' , 'fundus autofluorescence' and 'treatment'. Search results were limited to studies published in English and in human subjects only. The Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study established the current standard of care for diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy with the diagnosis based on slit-lamp biomicroscopy, indirect ophthalmoscopy, and fluorescein angiography. There has been a recent shift to the use of optical coherence tomography in the qualitative and quantitative assessment of such diseases. Furthermore, the advancement of optical coherence tomography from time-domain to spectraldomain technology allows us to visualize pathological changes of diabetic maculopathy in details in different retinal layers. Such observed changes have been used to establish new classifications of diabetic maculopathy. The high sensitivity and quantitative nature of optical coherence tomography make it a highly popular modality used extensively to monitor disease progression and efficacy of new treatment modalities. Optical coherence tomography plays a crucial role in the modern clinical management of diabetic retinopathy and maculopathy. Its use has revolutionized the understanding and management of these eye diseases.published_or_final_versio

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Surfactant protein D inhibits growth, alters cell surface polysaccharide exposure and immune activation potential of Aspergillus fumigatus

© 2022 The Authors. Humoral immunity plays a defensive role against invading microbes. However, it has been largely overlooked with respect to Aspergillus fumigatus, an airborne fungal pathogen. Previously, we have demonstrated that surfactant protein D (SP-D), a major humoral component in human lung-alveoli, recognizes A. fumigatus conidial surface exposed melanin pigment. Through binding to melanin, SP-D opsonizes conidia, facilitates conidial phagocytosis, and induces the expression of protective pro-inflammatory cytokines in the phagocytic cells. In addition to melanin, SP-D also interacts with galactomannan (GM) and galactosaminogalactan (GAG), the cell wall polysaccharides exposed on germinating conidial surfaces. Therefore, we aimed at unravelling the biological significance of SP-D during the germination process. Here, we demonstrate that SP-D exerts direct fungistatic activity by restricting A. fumigatus hyphal growth. Conidial germination in the presence of SP-D significantly increased the exposure of cell wall polysaccharides chitin, α-1,3-glucan and GAG, and decreased β-1,3-glucan exposure on hyphae, but that of GM was unaltered. Hyphae grown in presence of SP-D showed positive immunolabelling for SP-D. Additionally, SP-D treated hyphae induced lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine, but increased IL-10 (anti-inflammatory cytokine) and IL-8 (a chemokine) secretion by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), compared to control hyphae. Moreover, germ tube surface modifications due to SP-D treatment resulted in an increased hyphal susceptibility to voriconazole, an antifungal drug. It appears that SP-D exerts its anti-A. fumigatus functions via a range of mechanisms including hyphal growth-restriction, hyphal surface modification, masking of hyphal surface polysaccharides and thus altering hyphal immunostimulatory properties.Pasteur Roux-Cantarini Fellowship; UtechS Photonic BioImaging (Imagopole), C2RT, Institut Pasteur, supported by the French National Research Agency (France BioImaging; ANR-10–INBS–04; Investments for the Future)

Body dissatisfaction and depressive symptoms in Hong Kong adolescents

Poster no.

‘Remind-to-move’ treatment versus constraint-induced movement therapy for children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy : a randomized controlled trial

202303 bckwAccepted ManuscriptRGCPublishe

Salivary biomarkers and microbial attributes in oral health of nasopharyngeal-carcinoma

OBJECTIVES: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is one of the commonest cancers in South East Asia. In the present prospective translational study, we monitored the oral health of NPC patients under Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) in terms of oral candidiasis and salivary biomarkers. The preliminary data of the study were communicated at IADR-SEA, 2011, Singapore (Joseph Lister Award, 2011). Herein we report the data after the study completion. METHODS: Newly diagnosed 47 non-metastatic NPC patients were recruited into the study. Saliva samples and oral rinse samples were collected at baseline and during the IMRT at 2, 4, 6 weeks and 2 months post-radiotherapy. Oral rinse samples were examined for speciation, antifungal resistance and virulence attribute of Candida species. Salivary samples were analyzed for innate host defense biomarkers i.e. IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, IL-1β-IL-1ra and immunoglobulins IgA and IgE. Demographical data of the patients and details of radiotherapy were also recorded. RESULTS: Salivary biomarkers IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, IL-1β levels correlated well with the course of IMRT in NPC patients showing gradual increase from the base line and a drop at the end of the treatment. For instance mean IL-6 levels were 36.8, 339.8, 526.4, 703.6 and 114.5 pg/mL at the base-line to 2 month post-radiotherapy. Candidal carriage and clinical candidiasis peaked at 2 weeks in IMRT. C. parapsilosis was found to be a major species in post-radiotherapy and exhibited higher biofilm formation ability. Interestingly, mixed Candida species with higher drug resistance was also noted. CONCLUSIONS: This pioneering translational study has identified a potential salivary biomarkers and microbial attribute that could be used to monitor oral health of NPC patients under IMRT. Early intervention with an appropriate antifungal regimen appears desirable to mitigate oral candidiasis and oral inflammation in NPC patients