Description:
Fungi are everywhere. They’re present in the air, in our food, some even live inside our bodies. But most of us rarely think about diseases caused by fungi. This is because our defences do a really good job in keeping them in check.
However for millions of people whose immune system are defective fungi can cause serious infections that are hard to treat and can be life threatening.
A group of cells called phagocytes play a key role in keeping us safe from fungi. They normally patrol our body so when there’s a breach they are the first to respond. Their function is to seek eat and destroy microbial intruders.
But no all fungi are alike. My Ph.D. project aims to understand how phagocytes tackle such different targets. So far I have found there are huge differences in the rate at which various different fungi are engulfed by phagocytes.
The speed of these processes depends on the chemical composition of the fungi, whether they are alive or dead, and whether they are coated with human proteins that help to mark them as intruders.
Understanding the basic biology behind these processes is the first step towards developing new treatment strategies.
Maria Fernanda Alonso works in Professor Neil Gow’s lab at the University of Aberdeen.
Medical and Patient education videos
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Title
Description
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Nasal Aspergillosis destroys the bone in and around the nose. Unfortunately this case could not be treated and the dog had to be euthanised.
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Nasal aspergillosis with moderate turbinate destruction and fungal plate on left frontal sinus mucosa. Biopsy was performed and 10% clotrimazole cream was applied through endoscope.
[Aspergilosis nasal con moderada destrucción de cornete etmoidal izquierdo y placa micótica sobre mucosa de seno frontal. Se realizó la biopsia y se aplicó una crema de clotrimazol al 10% mediante el endoscopio.]
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This video depicts removal of superficial fungal infection involving the right ear canal by using suctioning technique
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More examination & analysis of lung specimens from a patient with aspergillosis
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A histological tour of the signs of aspergillosis in lung specimens
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A collection of short video’s hosted by the Aspergillus Website showing various aspects of the cell biology of Aspergillus and how parts of our immune system fights the infection.
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Sir David Attenborough and the Planet Earth team discover the weird world of the Cordyceps; killer fungi that invades the body of an insect to grow and diminish the insect population. Fascinating animal and wildlife video from the BBC epic natural world masterpiece ‘Planet Earth’.
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This video was kindly provided with permission from Lariontsev Nikolay.
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A patient describes her experience of living with chronic pulmonary aspergillosis and treatment with itraconazole.
