Candida Albicans News and Research

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Concordia University professors use funds to fight fungus and update aircraft

Thanks to new funding from the Government of Canada, two Concordia University professors just might create a greener aerospace industry and help cure fungal infections.

16 Nov 2013

Patients with mutation in gene encoding CX3CR1 at higher risk of candidiasis

Candida albicans is one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infections in immune compromised patients. The risk of both developing candidiasis and the clinical outcome of infection is variable among patients, and the host-dependent factors that contribute to patient susceptibility to C. albicans infection are poorly understood.

4 Nov 2013

Study shows how deadly Candida albicans might be rendered harmless

Candida albicans is a double agent: In most of us, it lives peacefully, but for people whose immune systems are compromised by HIV or other severe illnesses, it is frequently deadly. Now a new study from Johns Hopkins and Harvard Medical School shows how targeting a specific fungal component might turn the fungus from a lion back into a kitten.

25 Sep 2013

Microbiologist finds breakthrough herbal medicine treatment for common human fungal pathogen

A Kansas State University microbiologist has found a breakthrough herbal medicine treatment for a common human fungal pathogen that lives in almost 80 percent of people.

13 Sep 2013

New antibody could prevent Candida infections in patients who receive central lines

A team of researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has developed an antibody that could prevent Candida infections that often afflict hospitalized patients who receive central lines.

12 Sep 2013

Research shows how mucosal surfaces in body respond to C. albicans to prevent damage

Candida albicans is a common fungus found living in, and on, many parts of the human body. Usually this species causes no harm to humans unless it can breach the body's immune defences, where can lead to serious illness or death.

3 Sep 2013

Chemical compound prevents fungal cells from adhering to surfaces

Targeting serious and sometimes deadly fungal infections, a team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) has discovered a chemical compound that prevents fungal cells from adhering to surfaces, which, typically, is the first step of the infection process used by the human pathogen Candida albicans (C. albicans).

14 Aug 2013

Newly developed palm-sized microarray platform could enable faster, more efficient drug discovery

A new palm-sized microarray that holds 1,200 individual cultures of fungi or bacteria could enable faster, more efficient drug discovery, according to a study published in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

25 Jun 2013

Common sugar molecule promising target for development of broad-spectrum vaccine

Developing new vaccines to protect against diseases that plague humans is fraught with numerous challenges-one being that microbes tend to vary how they look on the surface to avoid being identified and destroyed by the immune system. However, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have discovered a sugar polymer that is common on the cell surface of several pathogens.

28 May 2013

Oral Candida infection weakens tooth enamel

Oral infection with Candida albicans is associated with demineralization of tooth enamel, potentially increasing susceptibility to caries, research shows.

11 Feb 2013

C. albicans capable of sexual reproduction

Like many fungi and one-celled organisms, Candida albicans, a normally harmless microbe that can turn deadly, has long been thought to reproduce without sexual mating. But a new study by Professor Judith Berman and colleagues at the University of Minnesota and Tel Aviv University shows that C. albicans is capable of sexual reproduction.

31 Jan 2013

Jagaricin and antifungal drugs: an interview with Prof Christian Hertweck

Most people have already experienced a fungal infection (mycosis) of the outer layer of the skin, athlete’s foot or ringworm. Whereas such infections may be cumbersome and often difficult to cure, usually they are not dangerous. However, in cases where a fungus causes a systemic infection, this is, it infects internal organs such as lungs or brain, the infection may turn into a life-threatening disease. Of course, only pathogenic fungi cause problems and the degree of virulence varies.

18 Dec 2012

New antifungal drugs could be developed based on substance bacteria use to decompose mushrooms

Soft rot diseases cause a great deal of damage in agriculture, and turn fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms to mush. By using imaging mass spectrometry together with genetic and bioinformatic techniques (genome mining), German researchers have now discovered the substance the bacteria use to decompose mushrooms.

29 Nov 2012

Metalloacid surfaces may be answer to hospital-acquired infections

Coating surfaces in metalloacids may help control the spread of hospital-acquired infections, suggest study findings.

14 Nov 2012

Digested coconut oil able to attack the bacteria that cause tooth decay

Digested coconut oil is able to attack the bacteria that cause tooth decay. It is a natural antibiotic that could be incorporated into commercial dental care products, say scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of Warwick.

3 Sep 2012

BioDiem granted European patent for antimicrobial drug

Australian vaccine development company BioDiem Ltd (ASX: BDM) announced today the successful granting of a key European patent for its synthetic antimicrobial compound BDM-I. BDM-I is a novel compound active against a range of pathogenic micro-organisms including bacteria, fungi and protozoa. The patent provides protection around BDM-I as a treatment for vulvovaginitis, a general term for inflammation of the vulva or vagina.

7 Aug 2012

How an opportunistic fungal pathogen knows when to attack

The opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans inconspicuously lives in our bodies until it senses that we are weak, when it quickly adapts to go on the offensive. The fungus, known for causing yeast and other minor infections, also causes a sometimes-fatal infection known as candidemia in immunocompromised patients. An in vivo study, published in mBio, demonstrates how C. albicans can distinguish between a healthy and an unhealthy host and alter its physiology to attack.

25 Jul 2012

NovaDigm reports positive data from Phase 1 NDV-3 vaccine program

NovaDigm Therapeutics, a company developing innovative vaccines for fungal and bacterial infections, today announced the presentation of positive data for its NDV-3 vaccine program in a second Phase 1 study.

7 May 2012

Deletion of Hms1 protein inhibits Candida albicans infection

Scientists at the University of Toronto have found a molecular mechanism that plays a key role in the transition of Candida albicans yeast into disease-causing fungus-one of the leading causes of hospital-acquired infection.

17 Mar 2012

Candida albicans can sense immune status of host cells and evade them

Glen Palmer, PhD, Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Immunology & Parasitology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, was part of an international research team led by Luigina Romani, MD, at the University of Perugia, that discovered opportunistic fungi like Candida albicans can sense the immune status of host cells and adapt, evading immune system defenses.

23 Feb 2012