We observed that depression is a common psychiatric disorder and has no significant effect on proinflammatory cytokine levels in HD patients; no important improvement in cytokine levels was observed after antidepressant therapy.
Aim: To test a total of 15 strains belonging to four species of yeasts by different in vitro methods against propolis and itraconazole (ITC).
Methods and Results: Three methods were compared for susceptibility testing of yeast isolates to propolis: disc diffusion method, agar dilution method and National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS, M27A) broth microdilution method. ITC was selected as the antifungal agent for comparison study. Using the broth microdilution method, the geometric mean for MIC (μg ml−1) with regard to all isolates was ≤0·06 for propolis and ≤0·35 for ITC. The broth microdilution and the agar dilution methods were in good agreement (75%) for propolis against yeasts isolated from patients with superficial mycoses. Using the diffusion method, all strains showed a broad zone of inhibition at the first available reading time (24 or 48 h). An increase of MIC values was accompanied by a decrease of growth inhibition zone diameter. A favourable correlation was found between MIC and inhibition zone around the disc for propolis sample and the correlation coefficient was: r = −0·626 (P < 0·01).
Conclusions: This study suggests the potential value of the agar dilution and disc diffusion method as a convenient alternative method for testing of yeasts to propolis.
Significance and Impact of the Study: This study demonstrated that propolis and ITC were very active against yeasts from patients with superficial mycoses. The other prominent finding in this study is that RPMI 1640 with l‐glutamine was the available broth for the in vitro susceptibility testing of yeasts.
Candida tropicalis
is the fourth leading cause of candidemia in Turkey. Although
C. tropicalis
isolates from 1997 to 2017 were characterized as fully susceptible to antifungals, the increasing global prevalence of azole-non-susceptible (ANS)
C. tropicalis
and the association between high fluconazole tolerance (HFT) and fluconazole therapeutic failure (FTF) prompted us to re-evaluate azole susceptibility of
C. tropicalis
in Turkey. In this study, 161
C. tropicalis
blood isolates from seven clinical centers were identified by ITS rDNA sequencing, genotyped by multilocus microsatellite typing, and tested for susceptibility to five azoles, two echinocandins, and amphotericin B (AMB); antifungal resistance mechanisms were assessed by sequencing of
ERG11
and
FKS1
genes. The results indicated that
C. tropicalis
isolates, which belonged to 125 genotypes grouped into 11 clusters, were fully susceptible to echinocandins and AMB; however, 18.6% of them had the ANS phenotype but only two carried the ANS-conferring mutation (Y132F). HFT was recorded in 52 isolates, 10 of which were also ANS. Large proportions of patients infected with ANS and HFT isolates (89 and 40.7%, respectively) showed FTF. Patients infected with azole-susceptible or ANS isolates did not differ in mortality, which, however, was significantly lower for those infected with HFT isolates (
P
= 0.007). There were significant differences in mortality (
P
= 0.02), ANS (
P
= 0.012), and HFT (
P
= 0.007) among genotype clusters. The alarming increase in the prevalence of
C. tropicalis
blood isolates with ANS and HFT in Turkey and the notable FTF rate should be a matter of public health concern.
No significant interaction was observed between piperacillin/tazobactam administration and Aspergillus GM and BDG assays. Positive results for these tests should be evaluated cautiously in patients at high risk for IFI receiving piperacillin/tazobactam.
Honeybee products (honey, royal jelly, pollen, and propolis) were evaluated for their ability to inhibit the growth of 40 yeast strains of Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida krusei, and Trichosporon spp. The broth microdilution method was used to assess the antifungal activity of honeybee products against yeasts. Fluconazole was selected as the antifungal control agent. Using the broth microdilution method, minimal inhibitory concentration ranges with regard to all isolates were 5-80% (vol/vol), 0.06-1 μg/mL, 0.002-0.25 μg/mL, 0.006-0.1 μg/mL, and 0.02-96 μg/mL for honey, royal jelly, pollen, propolis, and fluconazole, respectively. The antifungal activities of each product decreased in the following order: propolis >pollen > royal jelly > > honey. This study demonstrated that honeybee products, particularly propolis and pollen, can help to control some fluconazole-resistant fungal strains.
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