Malassezia species isolated from lesional and non‐lesional skin in patients with pityriasis versicolor

Abstract

Pityriasis versicolor (PV) is a superficial fungal infection where Malassezia species play a definite causative role, but the clinical significance of each of these species is not fully understood. The aim of our study was to analyse the prevalence of Malassezia species in PV lesions and to examine if the range of species varies with patient sex, age, direct microscopy findings and some clinical data. Ninety patients with PV completed the study. The samples were obtained by scraping the skin surface, both from lesional and non-lesional skin and then incubated on Sabouraud dextrose agar and modified Dixon agar. The yeast isolated were identified according to their macroscopic and microscoipic features and physiological characteristics. In PV lesions, the most common species was M. globosa (63%), followed by M. sympodialis (14%), M. furfur (10%), M. obtusa (8%) and M. slooffiae (4%). The most frequently isolated species from clinically healthy skin were M. globosa (49%), M. sympodialis (37%) and M. furfur (5%). We found significant difference in the distribution of Malassezia species between lesional and non-lesional skin and in the distribution of Malassezia species according to the direct microscopy findings. M. globosa in its mycelial phase is the predominant species involved in the aetiology of PV.

The Malassezia Genus in Skin and Systemic Diseases

“…More than 20 studies (Tables 3 to 6) have been carried out worldwide on the epidemiology of Malassezia species in cases of pityriasis versicolor, seborrheic dermatitis, atopic eczema, and psoriasis and on healthy control skin of the same individuals or skin from healthy volunteers (53,63,89,112,122,146,171,173,180,185,228,237,255,259,275,286,344,353). Results are not directly comparable between studies, as different methodologies, isolation media, and identification procedures have been employed.…”

“…Besides the consistent description of yeasts from pityriasis versicolor lesions, there are two main facts that permit an etiologic association of Malassezia with this disease: (i) it is more likely that a positive culture will be obtained from specimens taken from lesional skin than from macroscopically unaffected skin areas of either the same individual (255) or matched healthy controls (275), and (ii) the hyphal state is connected to pityriasis versicolor lesions, independently of the Malassezia species isolated, and seems to play an important role in the pathogenesis of this disease (127). However, the expansion of hyphae in pityriasis versicolor patients is not confined to lesional skin.…”

Malassezia Species and Pityriasis Versicolor

“…Buna karşılık, İskandinavya'da toplumun ancak %1'inde PV görüldüğü belirtilmiştir [10]. Bugün için PV tablosuna en sık neden olan tür olarak pek çok ça-lışmada M. globosa gösterilmektedir [8,9,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Bununla birlikte sınırlı sayıdaki çalışmalarda, PV olgularından en sık izole edilen Malassezia türü olarak M. sympodialis rapor edilmişse de bu çalışmalarda da ikinci en sık izole edilen tür olarak M. globosa dikkati çekmektedir [20][21][22][23].…”

A study on malassezia micro flora in the skin of healthy individuals in North Kerala, India

“…A total of 120 apparently healthy men and 120 women without any skin diseases or who were not treated for Malassezia associated skin diseases were selected for the study. They were grouped according to their age as (0-10), (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20), (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30), (31-40), (41-50), (> 51) where each group consisted of 40 subjects (20 men and 20 women). The specimens consisted of scrapings collected from chest, back and neck from each subject totaling 720 sites.…”