Is there a relationship between keratoconus and ocular Demodex mites?

BACKGROUND: The background of this study was to evaluate the relationship between keratoconus (KC) occurrence and ocular Demodex infestation together with the effects of Demodex on the ocular surface. METHODS: Thirty-eight eyes of 20 KC patients (KC group) and 40 eyes of 20 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects (control group) were included in this cross-sectional study. Demodex species (folliculorum/brevis), clinical symptoms such as eye rubbing, Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), corneal topography findings, tear break-up time (TBUT), and Schirmer test scores were evaluated. KC eyes were also divided into two subgroups according to KC severity and presence of Demodex. Demodex was detected using conventional light microscopy. RESULTS: The mean age was 25.90 ± 7.01 years in the KC group, and 26.52 ± 8.94 years in the control group (P = 0.731). While unexpectedly no Demodex were detected in the control group, Demodex were detected in the KC group, including 8 eyes (21.1%) with Demodex folliculorum, and 10 eyes with D. folliculorum + Demodex brevis (26.3%) (P < 0.001). As the KC severity worsened, the percentage of eyes with Demodex mites increased (43.8% in the mild/moderate subgroup and 66.7% in the severe subgroup, P < 0.001). The number of rubbing eyes and OSDI scores were significantly higher, and TBUT levels were significantly lower in the KC Demodex + and Demodex - subgroups than the control group (P < 0.001 for all), but there is no significant difference between the KC Demodex + and Demodex - subgroups regarding ocular surface parameters (P = 1.0). CONCLUSIONS: Although the number of patients is relatively small and there is no follow-up data after Demodex treatment, KC and ocular Demodex infestation seem to be associated. Demodex-related inflammation and associated eye rubbing may contribute to KC progression.

Prevalence of Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis in patients with blepharitis and chalazion.

PURPOSE: Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis are common ectoparasites on skin that also can lead to blepharitis and chalazion. The aim of our study is to determine the prevalence of Demodex spp. in eyelashes of patients diagnosed with chronic blepharitis and chalazion. METHODS: This study included 330 patients diagnosed with chronic blepharitis, 70 patients diagnosed with chalazion and 130 volunteers without any ocular problems. Patient eyelashes were examined under a light microscope at magnifications of × 40, × 100 and × 400. Demodex spp. were determined. RESULTS: Parasite prevalence was significantly higher in blepharitis (75.5%) and chalazion groups (70%) compared to the control group (16.2%) (p < 0.001). The prevalence of D. folliculorum in the blepharitis group and D. brevis in the chalazion group was found to be significantly higher compared to other groups (p < 0.05). The average number of mites per eyelash was found to be significantly higher in patients with Demodex positive blepharitis (p = 0.001) and in chalazion patients (p = 0.047) than in the control group. It has been determined that mite positivity increases with age in blepharitis and control groups (p < 0.05). In the group with blepharitis, it was found that mite positivity was significant in the presence of symptoms (p = 0.0001) and Demodex positivity decreased as the education level of individuals increased (p = 0.039). CONCLUSION: The results of the study show that Demodex spp infestations should be considered in chronic blepharitis and chalazion.

Evaluation of clinical and demographic characteristics of Turkish and Syrian pediatric cutaneous leishmaniasis patients from Hatay, Turkey after the Syrian civil war.

INTRODUCTION: Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a skin disease affecting all ages but especially children. Cutaneous leishmaniasis exists in Turkey, and, especially together with emigration from Syria to Turkey in recent years due to the civil war in Syria, the incidence of the disease has increased. AIM: To investigate Syrian patients (SP) and Turkish patients (TP) in the pediatric age group who were diagnosed with CL and to compare the age, gender, clinical type, number of lesions, and lesion localizations of these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We included CL patients aged 0-18 who were admitted to the outpatient clinic in the period 2015-2017 and in the first half of 2018. A total of 121 patients (SP, n = 87; TP, n = 34) were included in the study. RESULTS: The mean ages of TP and SP were 12.06 ±4.47 and 8.68 ±5.18 years and the disease durations were 6.25 ±3.86 and 4.73 ±3.39 months respectively (p = 0.049). The total number of lesions was 247. The mean lesion number per child was 2.35 ±2.28 in SP, and 1.23 ±0.55 in TP (p = 0.002). Two and multiple lesions were significantly higher in SP (p = 0.005). It was found that the lesions were most frequently located in the head/neck (HN) region (76.9%) and 44.1% of patients with HN localization belonged to the 7-12 age group. We also found that 57.1% of the HN lesions were of the papule type in the patients. CONCLUSIONS: We obtained similar results as in other studies in terms of age, gender, localization, and duration of lesions in general. When SP and TP were compared, we found that the number of lesions was higher, the disease duration was shorter, and the mean age was younger in SP.

Presence of Trichomonas tenax and Entamoeba gingivalis in peri-implantitis lesions.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate the presence of Entamoeba gingivalis and Trichomonas tenax in peri-implantitis lesions. METHOD AND MATERIALS: A total of 141 individuals were included in this study, of which 40 had clinically healthy implants (group H); the remaining were associated with peri-implantitis (group P). Gingival crevicular fluid was collected using absorbent paper, followed by a dental plaque sample from the peri-implant sulcus/pocket using a titanium curette. The samples were transferred into an Eppendorf tube. Each specimen was divided into two parts. One part was examined under a light microscope at a 10 × and 40 × magnification to detect parasites. The other part was spread on a microscope slide, stained with Giemsa stain, and examined under a microscope at 100 × magnification. Pearson chi-square test was used in the statistical analysis of data, with a significance level of P < .05. RESULTS: Although there was no presence of parasite around the healthy implants, two parasites were detected in peri-implantitis lesions. Out of 101 lesions, 31 (30.7%) showed E gingivalis, and 34 (33.6%) presented with T tenax. There was a statistically significant difference between the presence of E gingivalis and demographic data including gender, education status, frequency of dental visits, and brushing frequency. Presence of T tenax in lesions was correlated with frequency of dental visits (P < .05). It was observed that E gingivalis and T tenax were mostly detected in the mandible (P = .004 and .014, respectively) in comparison with the maxilla. CONCLUSION: This study showed that peri-implantitis lesions were involved with E gingivalis and T tenax, in contrast to the healthy areas.