Clinical and Experimental Dermatology

Biography

Biography: Liyan Xi

Abstract

Chromoblastomycosis as a chronic, cutaneous and subcutaneous infection has been reported more than 600 cases in China, but it has not been known to cause outbreaks until now. Several dematiaceous fungi are involved with the disease etiology, Cladophialophora carrionii is the most common agent in the North China, while Fonsecaea monophora instead of F. pedrosoi and F. nubica is the most common agent in the southern region. Infection commonly initiated after the etiologic agents gain through puncture wounds and mostly involved extremities of the males. Clinically, the lesions are polymorphic, including plaque, tumoral, cicatricial, verrucous, pseudo-vacuole, eczymatous and mixed type, which should be differentiated from some diseases associated with similar manifestation. The factors related to successful therapy for chromoblastomycosis might be pathogens, manifestations and severity. The common treatments include chemical therapy (systemic antifungal agents single used or combined) and physical methods, such as surgery, thermotherapy and cryotherapy. Patients with mild type of lesions could be treated successfully with systemic antifungal mono-therapy or combined therapy. But it is extremely difficult to eradicate severe lesions which are recalcitrant and disabling. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) as a minimally invasive approach combines a non-toxic photoactivatable dye as photosensitizer with harmless visible light of correct wavelength to generate reactive oxygen or molecules that are toxic to target cells. It has recently been applied to the drug-resistant or recalcitrant chromoblastomycosis and showed considerable effects with promising future.