Candida species are one of the most common causes of fungal infections around the world. Candida species can cause candidiasis infections which range from non-life-threatening mucocutaneous illnesses to invasive infections that may involve almost any organ. Invasive candidiasis (IC) has proved to be a leading cause of mycosis-associated mortality in the United States. With years of experience in antifungal studies, Creative Biolabs is now ready to offer a comprehensive series of high-quality services to discover new drug candidates, especially for the treatment of IC.
What is Invasive Candidiasis?
IC is a mycotic infection that can be caused by various species of Candida yeast. It occurs when Candida yeasts invade into the bloodstream and spread throughout all parts of the human body, including heart, brain, blood (fungemia), bones, eyes, etc. Unlike Candida infections of the vagina (Candidal vulvovaginitis) or the mouth and throat (oral candidiasis), invasive candidiasis may cause a serious, progressive, and potentially life-threatening infection. IC is the main cause of complications and death in hospitalized patients.
Fig.1 Pathogenesis of IC. (Kullberg, 2015)
Symptoms of Invasive Candidiasis
In general, patients who develop IC have already been sick from other medical conditions. It thus can be difficult to know which symptoms are associated with the IC. The most common symptoms of IC are suggested to be fever and chills that don’t improve after antibiotic treatment for suspected bacterial infections. Other symptoms can develop if the infection spreads to other parts of the body, such as the brain, heart, eyes, joints or bones.
Diagnosis of Invasive Candidiasis
Since many Candida species are part of the human microbiota, their presence in the mouth, the vagina, skin, urine, stool, or sputum is not conclusive evidence for IC. The definitive evidence of IC should be the positive culture of Candida species from normally sterile sites, including blood, pericardium, pericardial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, or biopsied tissue. Diagnosis by culturing ensures subsequent susceptibility testing of causative species. Moreover, the diagnosis of IC is also supported by histopathologic evidence (e.g., yeast cells or hyphae) that is observed in specimens of affected tissues.
Treatment of Invasive Candidiasis
Amphotericin B-based preparations, the azole antifungal agents, and the echinocandin antifungal agents are considered to play a role in the treatment of IC. These antifungal agents were developed by prospective, randomized trials in which amphotericin B deoxycholate was used as the comparison agent.
Choice of the therapeutic method should be guided by considering the greater activity of amphotericin B–based preparations and the echinocandin antifungal agents for some non-albicans species, such as Candida krusei, against the availability of oral and parenteral formulations for the azole antifungal agents.
Antifungal Drug Discovery for Invasive Candidiasis at Creative Biolabs
The goal of Creative Biolabs is to become a trustworthy partner for clients, in order to operate in the antifungal drug discovery and development space including antifungal drug safety and efficacy studies. Our scientists are committed to delivering to global clients working assay solutions, via in-house assay development and customized support. In addition to IC, we also provide drug discovery services against other types of candidiasis as well as Candida spp. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more details.
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