As a leading company in the field of the drug industry, Creative Biolabs has gained a wealth of good reputation for successfully completed numerous challenges in antifungal drug discovery. Based on our advanced technology platform and experienced scientists, we are able to provide a series of antifungal drug discovery service against pneumocystis pneumonia.
What is Pneumocystis Pneumonia?
Pneumocystis Pneumonia (PCP) is a serious infection that causes inflammation and fluid buildup in your lungs. It is relatively rare in the healthy people but commonly seen in immunocompromised people, such as premature or severely malnourished children, the elderly, patients who underwent chemotherapy, solid organ transplant, stem cell transplant, HIV/AIDS cases, and the use of medications that suppress the immune system.
PCP is a life-threatening lung disease caused by the yeast-like fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii (previously named Pneumocystis carinii), which is abundant in the environment. And it spreads from person to person through the airborne route, and 75% of humans have been infected by the age of 4. Asymptomatic pneumocystis infection is extremely common, which suggests that PCP remains in a latent state unless the person became immunosuppressed. Besides, PCP is closely associated with AIDS as it only occurs in an immunocompromised host. It was considered to be the major cause of death for people with HIV/AIDS.
Symptoms of Pneumocystis Pneumonia
Generally, the risk of PCP increases when the T-helper cell count (CD4+) is less than 200 cells per cubic millimeter. Fever is a main symptom of PCP, along with a nonproductive cough. Other common symptoms of PCP include the subtle onset of progressive dyspnea, chest tightness, weight loss, and night sweats. Furthermore, Pneumothorax is a well-known complication of PCP. The infection may invade other visceral organs such as the liver, spleen, and kidney, but only in a minority of cases. Compared with PCP, patients with AIDS and PCP have a significantly increased number of P. jirovecii in the lungs and fewer neutrophils.
Treatment of Pneumocystis Pneumonia
Symptoms of PCP are usually non-specific and the organism is not cultivable, therefore, diagnosis can be definitively confirmed by histological identification of the causative organism in specimens, such as sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and lung tissue. The PCP diagnosis also can be confirmed by the chest X-ray and Gallium 67 scans. Another diagnosis of this infection is made by immunofluorescent or histochemical staining of the specimen, and molecular analysis of polymerase chain reaction products comparing DNA samples.
Some people who are at high risk of getting PCP may need to take antibiotics or some medications to prevent it. The best way to prevent PCP for HIV persons is antiretroviral therapy as it can raise CD4 count. Patients with mild symptoms of PCP can be treated with oral therapy, but for those who with significant hypoxemia should be hospitalized for the administration of intravenous therapy. However, the most effective treatment for PCP is a combination of two drugs: trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX), which is also known as co-trimoxazole.
Types of Fungal Diseases Studied by Creative Biolabs
Aided by top technology and professional scientists, Creative Biolabs is committed to promoting the development of global customers’ programs. In addition to pneumocystis pneumonia, we also provide potential antifungal drug discovery services against other fungal diseases, which including but not limited to:
If you are interested in the fungal disease we investigate, please click the links above. For more detailed information, just feel free to contact us.
Reference
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