Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

BMC Cancer 2019 Apr 16;19(1):358. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03080, South Korea.

Background: Micafungin is a well-tolerated and effective prophylactic antifungal agent used in hematologic diseases. In this prospective trial, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of prophylactic micafungin during first induction chemotherapy in patients with acute leukemia. We also compared outcomes of prophylactic micafungin with those of prophylactic posaconazole in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Public Health Research Institute, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, Newark, NJ, USA

Isavuconazole, the active moiety of the prodrug, isavuconazonium sulfate, has potent activity against a wide spectrum of fungal pathogens and is approved for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis. Yet, little is known for tissue penetration of isavuconazole at the target sites of infection. Herein, we explored spatial and quantitative distribution of isavuconazole in tissue lesions in experimental pulmonary aspergillosis established in mice with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) (gp91). Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2019 Apr 15. Epub 2019 Apr 15.

Departments of Medical Microbiology and Internal Medicine, Section of Infectious Diseases, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Postgrad Med J 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

J Infect 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Clinic of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. Electronic address:

Objective: Our objective was to develop a model that predicts a patient's risk of developing invasive mould disease (IMD) within 60 days of admission for treatment of a haematological malignancy.

Methods: We analysed 19 risk factors for IMD in a cohort of 1,944 adult patients with haematological malignancies over 4,127 admissions at a haematology referral centre in Northern Italy (2007-2016). We used a multivariable logistic regression to estimate the 60-day probability of developing probable or proven IMD. Read More

Front Microbiol 2019 26;10:600. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

INSERM, Centre d'Étude des Pathologies Respiratoires, U1100, Tours, France.

is an airborne opportunistic fungal pathogen responsible for severe infections. Among them, invasive pulmonary aspergillosis has become a major concern as mortality rates exceed 50% in immunocompromised hosts. In parallel, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis frequently encountered in cystic fibrosis patients, is also a comorbidity factor. Read More

Sci Rep 2019 Apr 10;9(1):5857. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.

In fungi many proteins, which play important roles in maintaining the function of the cell wall and participating in pathogenic processes, are anchored to the cell surface by a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. It has been known that modification and removal of phosphoethanolamine (EtN-P) on the second mannose residue in GPI anchors is important for maturation and sorting of GPI anchored proteins in yeast and mammalian cells, but is a step absent from some protist parasites. In Aspergillus fumigatus, an opportunistic fungal pathogen causing invasive aspergillosis in humans, GPI-anchored proteins are known to be involved in cell wall synthesis and virulence. Read More

Rev Med Suisse 2019 Apr;15(646):766-770

Service des maladies infectieuses, CHUV, 1011 Lausanne.

Recent discoveries in innate immunity together with improvements in the analysis of the human genome have led to the identification of factors that make certain individuals more susceptible to infections than other. We know understand why herpes simplex virus I, a virus with a minor burden in most individuals, is responsible for devastating encephalitis in children unable to detect primo-infection of neural cells. A growing number of patients are treated with immunosuppressive drugs in the field of oncology, organ transplantation and immunology. Read More

Exp Clin Transplant 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

From the Department of Cardiology, Institut Universitaire de Cardiologie et de Pneumologie de Québec, Laval University, Quebec, Canada.

Aspergillus fumigatus is an opportunistic fungus that mainly affects immunocompromised patients. Due to significant immunosuppressive therapy, patients who undergo orthotopic heart transplant have an increased risk of infection. Aspergillosis is the most common fungal infection in orthotopic heart transplant recipients (70%) and usually presents as invasive aspergillosis, which has a rapidly progressive course and is highly fatal. Read More

Clin Neuropathol 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

An elderly male was admitted to the Department of Neurology for slowly progressive dysarthria and right-sided atactic hemiparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a small contrast-enhanced focus of malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe - with the growth pattern of cerebral gliomatosis - involving the whole left cerebral hemisphere, the corpus callosum, and spreading into the right frontal hemisphere. Diagnostic biopsy was deferred until the exclusion of other possible causes of the brain lesion. Read More

Proc Biol Sci 2019 Feb;286(1896):20182886

1 Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University , Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen , The Netherlands.

Aspergillus fumigatus causes a range of diseases in humans, some of which are characterized by fungal persistence. Aspergillus fumigatus, being a generalist saprotroph, may initially establish lung colonization due to its physiological versatility and subsequently adapt through genetic changes to the human lung environment and antifungal treatments. Human lung-adapted genotypes can arise by spontaneous mutation and/or recombination and subsequent selection of the fittest genotypes. Read More

J Thorac Dis 2019 Feb;11(2):465-476

Department of Rheumatology, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200001, China.

Background: To investigate the diagnostic performance of galactomannan (GM) detection in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) corrected by urea dilution and modification of the AspICU clinical algorithm.

Methods: GM detection in serum and BALF samples was performed in nonneutropenic patients on the day of clinically suspected invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) between January 2016 and June 2018, and urea was measured in the plasma and BALF. The BALF GM concentration was corrected by urea dilution, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to determine the optimal cut-off value. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Attikon University General Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data of liposomal amphotericin B (L-AMB) were compared with animal data from neutropenic and non-neutropenic models of azole-susceptible and azole-resistant invasive aspergillosis. L-AMB was equally effective. The C/MIC ratio associated with 50% of maximal activity was 0. Read More

Med Mal Infect 2019 Apr 5. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Intensive Care Department, François-Mitterrand University Hospital, 14, rue Gaffarel, 21000 Dijon, France.

Clin Infect Dis 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.

Background: There is limited data for direct comparisons of the efficacy of oral itraconazole (ITCZ) and oral voriconazole (VRCZ) therapy in the treatment of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA).

Methods: We conducted a retrospective follow-up observational study of CPA patients enrolled in two previous multicenter trials.

Results: Of the 273 CPA patients, 59 and 101 patients started maintenance therapy with oral ITCZ and oral VRCZ, respectively, just after the end of acute intravenous therapy in each trial. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2019 Apr 8. Epub 2019 Apr 8.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.

Background: Isavuconazole (ISA) is an attractive candidate for primary mold-active prophylaxis in high-risk patients with hematologic malignancies (HM) or hematopoietic-cell transplant (HCT) recipients. However, data supporting the use of ISA for primary prophylaxis in these patients is lacking.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of breakthrough invasive fungal infections (bIFIs) among adult HM patients and HCT recipients who received ≥ 7 days of ISA primary prophylaxis between 9/1/2016 and 9/30/2018. Read More

J Mol Biol 2019 Apr 4. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA; Immunology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA; Infectious Disease Service, Department of Medicine, Memorial Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA. Electronic address:

The genus Aspergillus is ubiquitous in the environment and contains a number of species, primarily A. fumigatus, that cause mold-associated disease in humans. Humans inhale several hundred to several thousand Aspergillus conidia (i. Read More

Ther Drug Monit 2019 Mar 31. Epub 2019 Mar 31.

Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd., Basel, Switzerland.

Background: Under certain circumstances, clinicians treating patients with isavuconazole for invasive aspergillosis or mucormycosis may use therapeutic drug monitoring. However, the accuracy and reproducibility of the various assays used by different laboratories for the quantification of isavuconazole plasma concentrations have yet to be determined.

Methods: Human plasma samples spiked with known concentrations of isavuconazole were provided to 27 European laboratories that took part in a "round-robin" test (an inter-laboratory test performed independently at least two times; two rounds performed in the current study). Read More

Med Mycol Case Rep 2019 Jun 15;24:30-32. Epub 2019 Mar 15.

Department of Parasitology, Vietnam Military Medical University, 160 Phung Hung, Ha Dong, Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

The morbidity of invasive aspergillosis in burn patients is low but the diagnosis is difficult and the mortality rate is high. A severe burned patient at the Vietnam National Institute of Burn was suspected of fungal wound infection (FWI) with fungal growth on the wound. The diagnosis of FWI caused by was made by isolation and histological examination. Read More

J Asthma 2019 Apr 4:1-8. Epub 2019 Apr 4.

a Department of Respiratory Medicine II , Fujita Health University School of Medicine , Nagoya , Aichi , Japan.

Background: Serological testing for immunoglobulin (Ig) E or IgG is useful for diagnosing allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA), as it detects type I and III allergic reactions to Aspergillus species. However, few reports have investigated the allergen component and cross-reactivity among Aspergillus species. We aimed to measure and analyze the levels of IgGs specific to each Aspergillus species and investigate the prevalence of IgEs specific to each allergen component of A. Read More

Acta Haematol 2019 Apr 3;141(4):209-213. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Department of Internal Medicine A, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Saba, Israel.

A 37-year-old male was admitted with an atypical presentation of central nervous system (CNS) aspergillosis while on ibrutinib therapy for a CNS relapse of mantle cell lymphoma. This case highlights the importance of a high clinical suspicion of opportunistic infections in patients receiving small-molecule kinase inhibitors. This report includes a review of reported cases of Aspergillus infections in patients receiving ibrutinib and the shared features of these cases. Read More

Front Microbiol 2019 19;10:446. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Section of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

MBio 2019 04 2;10(2). Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Tennessee, USA

is the predominant pathogen of invasive aspergillosis, a disease state credited with over 200,000 life-threatening infections each year. The triazole class of antifungals are clinically essential to the treatment of invasive aspergillosis, both as frontline and as salvage therapy. Unfortunately, resistance to the triazoles among isolates is now increasingly reported worldwide, and a large proportion of this resistance remains unexplained. Read More

Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2019 Mar 26;25(3):570-576. Epub 2018 Oct 26.

Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington; Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington; Division of Nephrology, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington.

Transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) has not been well characterized in large population studies with clinically adjudicated cases. We performed a retrospective cohort study of adults who underwent allogeneic HCT between 2006 and 2015 to determine the incidence of and risk factors for TA-TMA and to describe its natural history and response to immunosuppressant withdrawal management. Among 2145 patients in this study, 192 developed TA-TMA with a cumulative incidence of 7. Read More

Infect Dis (Lond) 2019 Apr 2:1-4. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

c Department of Pathology, Asan Medical Center , University of Ulsan College of Medicine , Seoul , Republic of Korea.

Background: Data on whether positive non-sterile fungal culture has the same clinical value as a positive galactomannan (GM) result are limited.

Methods: Patients with biopsy-proven invasive aspergillosis or mucormycosis (over an 8-year period) in whom the results of GM and fungal culture of sputum and/or sinus aspirates were available were enrolled. Biopsy-proven cases were defined if fungal culture from a sterile biopsy specimen gave a positive result and/or hyphae were demonstrated by immunohistochemical staining for aspergillosis and mucormycosis. Read More

Pediatr Pulmonol 2019 Apr 1. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida.

AIDS 2019 Mar 29. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Department of Hematology, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.

Introduction: Although a number of patients with HIV infection and hematological disease have successfully undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), short and long-term outcomes remain not well known. We report the largest Spanish experience treating HIV-infected adult patients with high-risk hematological malignancies with allogeneic HSCT.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 22 HIV-positive patients who received allogeneic HSCT in 5 centers in Spain. Read More

Intern Med 2019 1;58(7):979-984. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan.

Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, which features nodular lesions known as Aspergillus nodules, is a relatively uncommon disorder. We herein report a case of slowly progressing chronic multiple nodular pulmonary aspergillosis in a 59-year-old man with rheumatoid arthritis, dyspnea, and fatigue. One nodule was surgically resected. Read More

J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2019 Mar 27. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Division of Infection, Immunity & Respiratory Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom; Allergy Department, 2nd Pediatric Clinic, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Allergic asthma often coexists with different pathological conditions, called multimorbidities, that are mostly of allergic nature and share a common underlying inflammatory pathophysiological mechanism. Multimorbidities of allergic asthma may influence asthma control, its severity, and patients' response to treatment, and contribute to the overall socioeconomic burden of the disease. Immunoglobulin E (IgE) is known to play a central role in the pathogenesis of various allergic diseases, including asthma. Read More

Mol Microbiol 2019 Mar 29. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Calcium signaling through calcineurin and its major transcription factor (TF), CrzA, is integral to hyphal growth, stress response and virulence of the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus, the leading etiology of invasive aspergillosis. Dephosphorylation of CrzA by calcineurin activates the TF, but the specific phosphorylation sites and their roles in the activation/inactivation mechanism are unknown. Mass spectroscopic analysis identified 20 phosphorylation sites, the majority of which were specific to filamentous fungi and distributed throughout the CrzA protein, with particular concentration in a serine-rich region N-terminal to the conserved DNA-binding domain (DBD). Read More

Int J Infect Dis 2019 Mar 26. Epub 2019 Mar 26.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel; Department of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel; Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israely Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic role of PCR detection of Aspergillus DNA in the broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, in a large cohort of patients suspected to have invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA).

Methods: Consecutive immunocompromised patients who underwent bronchoscopy with BAL sampling and PCR detection of Aspergillus DNA for the diagnosis of pulmonary infiltrates, were included in the study. Galactomannan (GM) antigen testing in BAL and serum and BAL fungal culture were also performed. Read More

Mol Pharm 2019 Apr 10. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

College of Pharmacy , The University of Texas at Austin , Austin , Texas 78712 , United States.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is a deadly fungal infection with a high mortality rate, particularly in patients having undergone transplant surgery. Voriconazole, a triazole antifungal pharmaceutical product, is considered as a first-line therapy for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, and exhibits efficacy even for patients who have failed other antifungal drug therapies. The objective of this study is to develop high potency nanoaggregates of crystalline voriconazole composition for dry powder inhalation using the particle engineering process, thin film freezing. Read More

Transpl Infect Dis 2019 Mar 29:e13085. Epub 2019 Mar 29.

Departments of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Fiona Stanley Hospital and PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA, Perth, Australia.

Background: Invasive fungal infections (IFI) are common after lung transplantation with reported incidence of 8.1% to 16% at 12 months post-transplant, and 3-month all-cause mortality after IFI of 21.7%. Read More

Medicine (Baltimore) 2019 Mar;98(13):e15041

Department of Neurology, Southwest Hospital, The Third Military Medical University, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.

Rationale: Cavernous sinus-orbital apex aspergillosis is a rare but serious complication of rhinosinusitis. Pathology results are scarce, and this condition is difficult to diagnose based on clinical and radiological results.

Patient Concerns: A 64-year-old woman presented with cavernous sinus-orbital apex syndrome. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2019 Mar 28. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Department of Social Medicine and Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.

Aspergillus is one of the most prevalent airborne fungal pathogens in the developed countries that may cause fatal invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients. The epidemiological information on aspergillosis in Poland is scarce. This retrospective, population-based study evaluated the incidence of pulmonary and other forms of aspergillosis, and also gender distribution and territorial differences in the occurrence of aspergillosis in hospitalized patients in Poland during 2009-2016. Read More

Pan Afr Med J 2018 20;31:40. Epub 2018 Sep 20.

Hôpital Arrazi, CHU Mohamed VI, Marrakech, Maroc.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis is one of the rarest opportunistic infections in HIV-infected patients. Prognosis is poor. Aspergillus fumigatus is the main causative agent. Read More

J Clin Microbiol 2019 Mar 27. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among immunocompromised patients, with over 500 patients developing IA in Canada each year.…. Read More

Zhonghua Wei Zhong Bing Ji Jiu Yi Xue 2019 Mar;31(3):331-335

Department of Transfusion, Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University, Jining 272029, Shandong, China. Corresponding author: Zhang Yuqin, Email:

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy and diagnostic value of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid galactomannan test (BALF-GM) combined with serum GM test on invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA).

Methods: 190 cases of BALF-GM and 4 787 cases of serum GM specimens suspected of fungal infection in patients admitted to Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University from January 2016 to June 2018 were enrolled and analyzed. All patients were classified into clinically confirmed IPA, clinically diagnosed IPA, suspected IPA and excluded IPA according to the classification standard of Expert consensus on diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary mycosis. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2019 Mar 25. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Laboratorio de Referencia e Investigación en Micología. CNM-ISCIII. Majadahonda, Madrid. Spain

Voriconazole is a triazol antifungal agent recommended as primary treatment for invasive aspergillosis, as well as some other mould infection .However, it presents some pharmacokinetic singularities which lead to a great variability intra and interindividually, non-linear pharmacokinetics and a narrow therapeutic range. Most experts have recommended tracing the levels of voriconazole in patients when receiving treatment. Read More

J Vasc Interv Radiol 2019 Apr;30(4):621-622

Histopathology Department, King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guards Health Affairs, P.O. Box 22490, Riyadh 11462, Saudi Arabia.

Annu Rev Food Sci Technol 2019 Mar;10:409-427

United States Food and Drug Administration, Bedford Park, Illinois 60501, USA.

Spices in the desiccated state provide an environment that allows the survival of many foodborne pathogens. Currently, the incidence of pathogen-positive spices imported into the United States is 1.9 times higher than for any other imported food. Read More

Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Industrial Enzymes National Engineering Laboratory, Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tianjin, 300308, China. Electronic address:

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a life-threatening disease impacting immunocompromised individuals. Standard treatments of IA, including polyenes and azoles, suffer from high toxicity and emerging resistance, leading to the need to develop new antifungal agents with novel mechanisms of action. Ergosterol biosynthesis is a classic target for antifungals, and squalene synthase (SQS) catalyzes the first committed step in ergosterol biosynthesis in Aspergillus spp. Read More

Mycopathologia 2019 Mar 22. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Universitario Ramon y Cajal, Carretera Colmenar km 9,1, 28034, Madrid, Spain.

Background: Experience with aerosolized lipid amphotericin B (aeLAB) as therapy or secondary prophylaxis in patients with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) is anecdotal.

Methods: We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study to evaluate the efficacy of systemic antifungal therapy with and without aeLAB in patients with proven or probable IPA. Complete or partial response at 3 months was the primary end-point. Read More

Clin Transplant 2019 Mar 21:e13544. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33136, USA.

These updated AST-IDCOP guidelines provide information on epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of Aspergillus after organ transplantation. Aspergillus is the most common invasive mold infection in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, and the most common invasive fungal infection among lung transplant recipients. Time from transplant to diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis (IA) is variable but most cases present within the first year post-transplant, with shortest time to onset among liver and heart transplant recipients. Read More

Med Mycol Case Rep 2019 Jun 28;24:27-29. Epub 2019 Feb 28.

Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, NSW Health Pathology-South West Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Cerebral abscess due to is a relatively uncommon presentation, even amongst immunocompromised patients. However it is increasingly being recognized as a complication of ibrutinib therapy in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. We present a case of cerebral abscesses caused by in a patient receiving ibrutinib for chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2019 Mar 21;19(1):274. Epub 2019 Mar 21.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Health and Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Background: Little is known about the morbidity and mortality of invasive fungal disease (IFD) at a population level. The aim of this study was to determine the incidence, trends and outcomes of IFD in all haematology-oncology patients by linking Victorian hospital data to state-based registries.

Methods: Episodes of IFD complicating adult haematological malignancy (HM) and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients admitted to Victorian hospitals from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2016 were extracted from the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset and linked to the date of HM diagnosis from the Victorian Cancer Registry and mortality from the Victorian Death Index. Read More

Curr Opin Pulm Med 2019 May;25(3):281-288

Pneumology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d' Hebron (HUVH), Institut de Recerca Vall d'Hebron (VHIR), Barcelona, Spain.

Purpose Of Review: Bronchiectasis is a chronic respiratory disease with heterogeneous clinical manifestations and outcomes. Identifying clinical phenotypes could help in managing bronchiectasis patients and hopefully improve disease prognosis by adopting personalized treatment. We review the current literature on clinical phenotypes of bronchiectasis and try to highlight priorities for future research. Read More

Antimicrob Agents Chemother 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Molecular Microbiology Section, Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology (LCIM), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, United States of America

Emergence of azole-resistance in as well as an increasing frequency of multi-resistant cryptic spp. necessitates exploration of new classes of antifungals. Olorofim (formerly F901318) is a new fungicidal agent that prevents growth of ascomycetous mold species via inhibition of de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis, a mechanism of action distinct from currently available antifungal drugs. Read More

Vet Immunol Immunopathol 2019 Mar 26;209:61-69. Epub 2019 Feb 26.

Sydney School of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; Marie Bashir Institute of Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. Electronic address:

Specific point mutations in the human toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) confer altered risk for diverse diseases including sepsis, aspergillosis and inflammatory bowel disease. Some of these TLR4 polymorphisms are racially specific. We hypothesised that feline TLR4 polymorphisms might underlie an observed increased risk to infectious and inflammatory diseases in some cat breeds. Read More

J Biomed Mater Res A 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas.

Cutaneous fungal infection is a challenging condition to treat that primarily afflicts immunocompromised patients. Local antifungal therapy may permit the delivery of high concentrations of antifungals directly to wounds while minimizing systemic toxicities. However, the field currently lacks suitable in vivo models. Read More