%0 Journal Article
%T Species Diversity, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Virulence Attributes of Candida Colonising the Oral Cavities of Adult Diabetic Patients
%A Deepa Anil Kumar
%A Sumathi Muralidhar
%A Krishna Biswas
%A Uma Banerjee
%A Seemi Farhat Basir
%A Luqman Ahmad Khan
%J Journal of Mycology
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/395041
%X Oral candidiasis is a common occurrence in diabetic patients. Species of Candida isolated from these infections and their virulence pattern undergo changes over time and require periodic assessments. Objective of this study was to determine changes in the spectrum of Candida species colonizing oral cavity, their antifungal susceptibility patterns, and virulence attributes, in adult diabetic patients. Oral swabs were collected from 100 patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and an equal number of healthy controls. Specimens were cultured for Candida and species were identified, according to standard protocols. Of 100 diabetic patients, 42 were colonized by yeasts with C. albicans as the predominant species (51%). Non-Candida albicans Candida (NCAC) species accounted for 47% of the specimens, with C. tropicalis being the commonest. Among healthy controls, 23 were colonized by Candida species, of which C. albicans was predominant. Results obtained indicate that C. albicans continues to be the predominant species in oral cavities of diabetic patients. Candidal carriage was significantly associated with duration of diabetes and fasting blood sugar levels. Virulence attributes, proteinase and phospholipase secretion, and biofilm formation were significantly higher in DM group. 1. Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a growing public health concern and a common chronic metabolic disease worldwide, and India is identified as the diabetes capital of the world [1]. World Health Organization considers diabetes as one of the major noncommunicable disease [2]. Among the 10 countries estimated to have the largest number of cases with diabetes, India is leading the list at present [3]. Of the two types of diabetes, type 1 (also known as insulin dependent) and type 2 (also known as insulin independent), type 2 is more prevalent. DM is associated with various inflammatory diseases and soft tissue pathologies in the oral cavity; however, awareness of these complications is lacking worldwide [4]. The frequent occurrence of Candida infections has been recognized for many years and oral candidiasis in particular is thought to be more prevalent among these individuals [5¨C7]. Studies on the relationship between DM and Candida are often contradictory [8]. There is a paucity of data on carriage rate of Candida species in DM patients, along with its virulent attributes and antifungal resistance patterns. Hence, the present study was designed to evaluate spectrum of yeast species in oral cavity of Type 2 DM patients on various antidiabetic treatment modalities, in relation to
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jmy/2014/395041/