| Title |
Presence of Acanthamoeba in the ocular surface in a Spanish population of contact lens wearers
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Acta Parasitologica, April 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1515/ap-2018-0045 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Javier Rodríguez-Martín, Pedro Rocha-Cabrera, María Reyes-Batlle, Atteneri López-Arencibia, Ines Sifaoui, Aitor Rizo-Liendo, Carlos J. Bethencourt-Estrella, José E. Piñero, Jacob Lorenzo-Morales |
| Abstract |
Pathogenic strains of Acanthamoeba are causative agents of a sight-threatening infection of the cornea known as Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) which mainly affects contact lens wearers and it is commonly related to poor hygiene of contact lenses and their cases. Moreover, treatment of AK is complex due to the existence of a highly resistant cyst stage and if not diagnosed early has poor prognosis, leading to blindness and/or keratoplasty. Even though AK is increasing worldwide as well as awareness among patients and clinicians, it is still a poorly studied pathogen. Additionally, a remaining question to be answered is whether these opportunistic pathogens are present in the ocular surface of healthy contact lens wearers since they are the main group at risk.In order to carry out this study, sterile Schirmer strip tests were collected from a group of individuals all of them contact lens wearers who were attending a local ophthalmology clinic in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The collected samples (100 eyes of 50 patients) were cultured in 2% Non-Nutrient Agar (NNA) plates and positive plates (16) were then cultured in axenic conditions for further analyses. Molecular analysis classified all isolated strains belonged to Acanthamoeba genotype T4 and osmotolerance and thermotolerance assays revealed that all strains were potentially pathogenic. In conclusion, the ocular surface of contact lens wearers included in this study was colonized by potentially pathogenic strains of Acanthamoeba and should be considered as a risk for AK infection in this region and worldwide. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profile of 1 X user who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 1 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 1 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 23 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 23 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 3 | 13% |
| Professor > Associate Professor | 3 | 13% |
| Student > Master | 3 | 13% |
| Researcher | 2 | 9% |
| Student > Bachelor | 1 | 4% |
| Other | 3 | 13% |
| Unknown | 8 | 35% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 4 | 17% |
| Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 3 | 13% |
| Engineering | 2 | 9% |
| Computer Science | 1 | 4% |
| Psychology | 1 | 4% |
| Other | 4 | 17% |
| Unknown | 8 | 35% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 15 April 2018.
All research outputs
#20,663,600
of 25,382,440 outputs
Outputs from Acta Parasitologica
#356
of 735 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#266,940
of 342,076 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Acta Parasitologica
#9
of 17 outputs
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