Original descriptions of Aspergillus
 We are collecting as many papers as possible from the pre-1965 era with particular reference to original papers describing Aspergillus species or the first descriptions of Aspergillus infections or illnesses.
So far we have records of 446 papers (108 fully downloadable papers), including Desmazières 1834 (original descripton of A. clavatus - our earliest copy of a paper so far), Thom & Church 1918 (the original descriptons of A. terreus and early descriptons of A. fumigatus, A. nidulans and their 'famlies'), Patterson 1900 (A. umbrinus). In total we have the original descriptions of 73 species available for download.
Notable medical papers include two records (no copy of the papers procured yet) of maxillary sinus Aspergillus infectons dated 1791. The earliest paper we have on this subject is 'On the Parasitic Vegetable Structures found growing in Living Animals' by JH Bennett in 1842.
We have records of the history of Aspergillosis and Medical Mycology from several different countries: India, Spain, Germany, Turkey & Japan, dating back to 1952..
This section also includes a series of veterinary papers.
If anyone has any material that they could contribute please let us know here
This month
 Clinical Trials have been the focus of activity this month. We have gathered together all records of all recorded clinical trials currently operating throughout the world into our new Clinical Trials page, part of the Research Directory.
We have records of 64 trials on Aspergillosis, Aspergilloma and ABPA with 19 currently recruiting patients in locations widely spread all over the world.
Latest News and Articles
There have been 34 additions to the articles section. Readers should also not that it is now possible to read the abstract of each article simply by clicking in the Abstract link appearing alongside each article. We have picked out a few of the highlights here:
Incidence of systemic fungal infection and related mortality
following severe burns
One of the groups of patient vulnerable to aspergillus infection are burns victims (see Burns protocol in the Treatment section). This paper is a 12 year review that looks at 97 burns victims which underwent autopsy. Virtually all (13 out of 14) that died with the cause attributed at least partly to a fungal infection were found to be suffering from an Aspergillus infection.
The risk of infection was directly proportional to the time of exposure of the wound, itself a function of the severity of the burn. Closing the wound as quickly as possible is therefore a high priority to avoid infection.
First isolation of a novel thermostable antifungal peptide secreted by Aspergillus clavatus
AcAFP was isolated after heat treatment of A. clavatus in the supernatent after removing the solid debris. It is a heat stable peptide that has significant similarity to antifungal peptides produced by ascomycete fungi.
Tests show antifungal activity towards Aspergillus niger and other fungal pathogens but no activity towards yeasts of bacteria, suggesting a novel mechanism of activity that could be exploitable for a new generation of antifungal drugs.
 Globally panmictic population structure in the opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus sydowii
Disease outbreaks can have several origins, one being the introduction of a new organism or strain that has enhanced pathogenicity in a particular ecosystem.
This paper looked at the recent outbreaks of infections of Sea Fans off the Florida Coast by Aspergillus sydowii. Samples were taken from several locations which suggested that rather than a single new pathogenic strain causing all the infections, there were multiple different strains involved. The conclusion is that A.sydowii is an opportunist taking advantage of weakness of the host.
Caspofungin Acetate (Cancidas) Approved for Pediatric Indications
An extension of permitted use of this antifungal in the US is announced by the FDA to include children from 3 months for the following:.
"invasive aspergillosis in patients refractory or intolerant of other therapies. It also may be used as empiric therapy for presumed fungus infection in patients with fever and neutropenia."
Links - Flooding
After severe flooding both in the UK and USA over the last week we are highlighting the useful links we provide to important information on management and prevention of the health effects of flooding.
Reviews
Endocrine and Metabolic Manifestations of Invasive Fungal Infections
and Systemic Antifungal Treatment
Systemic fungal infections can infiltrate many endocrine organs and then adversely effect their function. Antifungal drugs can also interfere with endocrine function. This review thus states
"Herein, we
review how mycoses and conventional systemic antifungal treatment
can affect the endocrine system and cause metabolic abnormalities.
If clinicians are equipped with better knowledge of the
endocrine and metabolic complications of fungal infections and
antifungal therapy, they can more readily recognize them and
favorably affect outcome"
Galactofuranose containing molecules in Aspergillus
fumigatus
"Galactofuranose is a major carbohydrate in Aspergillus fumigatus. It became
famous in medical mycology as being part of the galactomannan which was
shown 30 years ago to be the major antigen circulating in the body fluid of patients
suffering from invasive aspergillosis."
"One
question remained open: what is the source and the
chemical nature of the Galf containing molecules
circulating in the blood, urine or lung fluid of infected
patients? This review will present our current understanding
of all the molecules containing Galf that are
synthesized by A.fumigatus."
Blog
 Aspergillus eats Russian spacecraft!
Humid living conditions on spacecraft are sufficient to support growth of Aspergillus and other microbes on the many alloy surfaces in living quarters. Alloys are extensively used due to their light weight and strength. Unfortunately microbial growth can cause biocorrosion of those alloys, limiting the life of the entire craft.
Technical Tips
Our discussion group (email and/or website) designed to promote discussion on technical issues for laboratory workers.
Searching the website
We now have a dedicated Google Search Appliance for this website. This means you can search the Aspergillus Website using Google and it will include nearly all documents on the website (pdf, doc, ppt, html, php etc). and will include parts of the secure sections and eventually index images - a big improvement on earlier search facilities. Try it out here or search the Aspergillus Cloud
HonCode
 Health on the Net Foundation (HonCode) are the formost accrediation service for health-oriented websites. The Aspergillus Website has been accredited since 1999 and this has once again been reaffirmed after the latest review in August 2007
RSS
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The Aspergillus Team.
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