Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis

Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis General Information

Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis or CMC is known as a form of moniliasis (candidiasis) characterized by the fact that it develops, in 50-70% of the cases during the first year of the human life. In some rare cases it can also occur after the patient is 20 years old. When this health problem occurs at the adult age, it is often associated with abnormalities of the bone marrow, thymoma or myasthenia gravis. This is considered to be a multitude of overlapping clinical syndromes of a chronic, persistent and severe candidiasis that has spread all over the body. Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis is a heterogeneous disease that attacks the immune system of the human organism. This disease affects both males and females in an equal ratio and it can manifest as repeated (persistent) infections of the nails, scalp, skin and mucous membranes with C. albicans. Candida represents a fungus that belongs to the yeast categories. The illness may be the result of a defect in T-cells immunity (in cell-mediated) that is inherited. These processes do not affect the immunity that is provided by the patient’s B-cells that remain untouched, offering the usual antibody responses to Candida albicans. This disorder is often secondary to some immunodeficiency syndromes, even if it can also be inherited. Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis is also called the Candida related complex, or more simply, Candidosis or Chronic Mucocutaneous. We can also associate it with malignancy, endocrine problems or dental stomatitis. It is known that there are no preferences of CMC for any race.

Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis Symptoms

Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis is a rare condition that is mainly caused by fungus. This disorder makes the body to be less able to resist and fight against any type of fungal infections, especially yeast infections. All the disorders that are determined by this disease are confined to the surface of the skin. CMC is also responsible for a very common infection of the vagina, known as thrush or candidiasis. This disorder can also trigger a deficiency of a mediator that is normally produced by the organism’s lymphocytes, a migration inhibitor factor. Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis, as other infections with Candida, affects the patient’s mucous membranes, the skin, vagina and nails and leads to the appearance of circular lesions that can be large. The main symptoms are: small blisters, itchy skin rash, rash in the skin folds, white patches on tongue, inside the cheeks and in the throat, inflammations of the skin, armpit skin rashes and rashes under breasts. These infections are the cause of the systemic symptoms that are usually associated with infections of the respiratory tract that become recurrent especially if the disease reaches to later stages. Patients suffering from this medical condition could also experience some other associated conditions, for example serious viral infections. The nose, mouth and palate can be affected leading to difficulties in speaking and eating. Hypoparathyroidism can appear and is characterized by hypocalcaemia and tetany. Other medical conditions that are connected with this disease are: diabetes, Addison’s disease, pernicious anemia and hypothyroidism. Some patients can complain of psychiatric disorders due to the fact of multiple endocrine aberrations and disfigurement.

Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis Treatment

If you present any of the symptoms listed above and you think you may have Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis, you should consider calling your health care provider and establish an immediate appointment. He or she will do a physical examination, but the final diagnosis is made only on clinical grounds. Also, if your doctor considers it necessary, he will send you to a dermatologist for a better examination and for some further advice. The presence of the Candida micro-organism is usually confirmed after cultures of skin scrapings and swabs are carefully studied under a microscope. The specialist may want to see some laboratory tests that should reveal a normal count of circulating T-cells. Even if you are during an infectious stage, the skin exams are not supposed to show any delayed hypersensitivity to Candida. The examinations must be carefully done so that other immunodeficiency disorders associated with an infection with Candida are excluded. Once the disease is diagnosed for sure, the health care provider must teach his patient about the importance of visiting an endocrinologist regularly, as checkups are needed.

Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis is a rare condition that usually occurs in childhood being characterized by widespread and very persistent Candida albicans infections. It is very important that this disorder is diagnosed on time because it usually develops in association with endocrine dysfunction, for example hypoadrenalism or hypoparathyroidism, defects of the immune system and genetic abnormalities. Any treatment against Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis has the main aim of controlling the infections, although this is not always successful. Because the causing defect is not treatable, very useful in fighting against this health problem are the antifungal agents, such as: clotrimazole, nystatin or miconazole. The doctor usually prescribes them as lozenges (troches) or mouthwashes for six to twelve days. Then, a next category of methods of treatment used against Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis, with very good effects is the immunologic therapy. The third category is represented by a combination of therapies. Sustained improvement of the patient’s health status is produced by nystatin and miconazole although these two antifungal agents fail to effectively control Chronic Mucocutaneous Candidiasis by themselves.

The treatments with these kinds of agents must be administrated in higher doses and in prolonged courses than in other infections with Candida. Your doctor may start with a course of one or two weeks of therapy. Because this is a systemic infection, the treatment must be vigorous, although they are not always fatal. In this matter, very good results may be offered by injections of levamisole and thymosin or by oral ketoconazole. If viral infections are involved, acyclovir may be preferred by some doctors, as well as a replacement therapy of the iron (in the case of deficiency of iron), given either orally or I.M. Sometimes, during the therapy, the infection may become resistant to the drugs. When it is needed, plastic surgery of the lesions may be included in the therapy, along with psychological counseling in order to help the patients with disfigurement to cope with it.