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Here I have attached a recent CDC article about the fungal disease called Invasive Candidiasis.

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Invasive Candidiasis | Candidiasis | Types of Fungal Diseases | Fungal Diseases | CDC

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Invasive candidiasis definition, symptoms, risk and prevention, sources of infection, diagnosis, treatment, information for healthcare professionals, statistics, and more resources.

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Image of all of the organs/body parts that Invasive Candidiasis affects in a person's body.

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Invasive Candidiasis is a serious infection that is caused by a kind of yeast or fungus called Candida. Although there are a variety of types of Candida infections/conditions, Invasive Candidiasis in particular can affect an individual's heart, eyes, blood, and their bones as well. Due to this, a bloodstream infection/condition named Candidemia is one of the most common bloodstream infections amongst hospitalized patients.

Link for image used:
https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/11/7/877

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As aforementioned in the second block, the leading cause of Invasive Candidiasis is a yeast or fungus called Candida. The six main pathogens that cause invasive infections are:

1. Candida albicans (most common)

2. Candida glabrata

3. Candida tropicalis

4. Candida parapsilosis

5. Candida krusei

6. Candida auris

Link for image used:
https://drfungus.org/knowledge-base/candida-albicans/

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Some of the symptoms of Invasive Candidiasis are:
1. Fever
2. Chills
3. Skin rash
4. Low blood pressure
5. Fatigue
6. Headaches

Link for image used: https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/infectious-diseases/fungi/candidiasis-invasive

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Image of Invasive Candidiasis affecting a patient's eyes.

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Although there is not a specific way to determine if a patient does in fact have Invasive Candidiasis, one way that healthcare physicians can test for it is by taking a sample of the patient's blood. After they take the blood sample, they will then send it to the laboratory to see if it grows Candida on a petri dish. Another way to determine if a patient has this specific infection/disease is by looking at their medical history, as well as looking to see if the patient's fevers or chills do not improve after taking antibiotic treatments.

Link of image used: https://emcrit.org/ibcc/candida/

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Image of Micafungin, which is a type of antifungal treatment for Invasive Candidiasis.

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First, it is important to discuss who exactly are at risk of obtaining this specific infection/condition. The groups of people who are at the most risk of getting this disease are: people who are 65 years and older, infants who are younger than one years old, and people who have gotten a blood transfusion or surgery. With that being said, one of the main ways that healthcare physicians can treat Invasive Candidiasis is by administering antifungal medications, which are then given through the patient's vein using an IV. Some of the antifungal medications used are called: Micafungin (the image), Fluconazole, Anidulafungin, and etc. Concerning the duration of treatment for patients with this specific condition, therapy/treatment usually depends on how the patient is responding to the antifungal medications that they are being prescribed. If they respond well to the antibiotics then treatment can last anywhere from two days to two weeks. Whereas for patients that do not respond well or have other underlying issues that are affecting their ability to get better, treatment or therapy can last anywhere from several weeks to 12 months. Lastly, although there really aren't any ways that a person can prevent themselves from obtaining this specific infection, some ways that people can attempt to put themselves at a lower risk of getting Invasive Candidiasis are by washing their hands for 20 seconds, speaking up about if their skin starts to turn red and become painful, and by taking antifungal medication if they recently received an organ transplant or was recently diagnosed with Invasive Candidiasis.

Link for image used:
https://www.empr.com/home/news/generics-news/micafungin-for-injection-in-50mg-100mg-10ml-single-dose-vials/

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Peter G. Pappas, MD; Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

Link for image and credentials used: https://carbonalert.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Pappasbio2020.pdf

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Video about Invasive Candidiasis and other Candida Infections/Conditions

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Candidal Infections: Osmosis Study Video

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Image of Infographic about Invasive Candidiasis. 

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Link for infographic used:
https://funguseducationhub.org/invasive-candidiasis-infographics-resources/

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Image of the process of how Invasive Candidiasis invades a person's body/organs.

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Peter G. Pappas and his fellow counterparts figured out that Candida can be found on about 50-70% of moderately healthy individuals. They determined that under ideal conditions, the Candida fungus behaves with the host's body/organs in a mutualistic/commensal manner. However, any impairment or damage to that specific host's body/organs can cause overgrowth of the fungus, leading to infections such as Invasive Candidiasis.

Link for image used: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29749387/

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A group of scientists did an experiment on mice to analyze and observe how Candida albicans, which is the most common Candida fungi, affected their brains. Unfortunately, during the experiment the mice suffered from short-term memory loss. Using the data that they collected from the experiment, the scientists concluded that the same protein that surrounded the Candida fungal infection in the mice's brains, is the same exact protein found in patient's with Alzheimer's Disease.

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By Abigail Pavey
A fungus that can infect the brain may be the key to understanding Alzheimer's disease.
The blood brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective barrier that allows very few unwanted substances pass through it. However, there are some bacteria and fungi that have found a way to cross the BBB and cause infections; Candida albicans is one example of these fungi. Recently, a group of scientists looked into the pathogenesis of Candida albicans in the brain [1]. They found when mice were infected with Candida, they suffered from short-term memory loss whilst clearing the infection. Furthermore, the protein found surrounding the sites of fungal infection is the same protein found accumulated in the brains of Alzheimer patients.

Candida albicans is a type of yeast; it lives in the human gut as a natural part of our microbial flora and fauna. In certain situations, for example if a person has a compromised immune system, there can be an increase in the amount of fungal biomass in the body. In other words, there is more Candida. Candida now has the potential to spread and enter the bloodstream. In fact, it's becoming an increasing problem for hospitals in the developed world.

In this study, researchers infected mice with Candida. After crossing the BBB, they found that the fungus grew as multiple isolated clusters in the brain and causes an inflammatory response, indicated by the recruitment of cerebral monocytes. As part of this inflammatory response, the brain cells surrounding the infected lesion produced a higher level of amyloid precursor protein (APP) than normal.

APP can be cleaved (cut) to produce a smaller peptide called amyloid-beta (Aβ). Aβ was shown to accumulate at the center of the fungal clusters, where it promoted an anti-fungal immune response. Aβ is therefore part of process of clearing the infection.

The causes of Alzheimer's disease are far from understood, but one prevailing hypothesis is the 'amyloid hypothesis'. Amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides can aggregate to form flexible soluble oligomers; once a few molecules have aggregated, it encourages more Aβ peptides to do the same. This results in the formation of amyloid plaques. Amyloid plaques are elevated in patients with Alzheimer's diseases but it is not understood how they contribute to the pathology of the disease.

Candida infections have been found in the blood and brains of patients with Alzheimer's diseases - emphasising the possible link between the two [2-4]. This new disease model, using mice, may in the future be crucial to understanding how Aβ causes neurodegeneration and hence diseases such as dementia.

1. Wu, Yifan, et al. "Microglia and amyloid precursor protein coordinate control of transient Candida cerebritis with memory deficits." Nature communications 10.1 (2019): 58.

2. Alonso, R. et al. Fungal infection in patients with Alzheimer's disease. J. Alzheimers Dis. 41, 301-311 (2014).

3. Pisa, D., Alonso, R., Juarranz, A., Rábano, A. & Carrasco, L. Direct visualization of fungal infection in brains from patients with Alzheimer's disease.J. Alzheimers Dis. 43, 613-624 (2015).

4. Pisa, D., Alonso, R., Rabano, A., Rodal, I. & Carrasco, L. Different brain regions are infected with fungi in Alzheimer's disease. Sci. Rep. 5, 15015 (2015).

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Yeast on the brain: could fungi be linked to Alzheimer's Disease? - The Oxford Scientist

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By Abigail Pavey A fungus that can infect the brain may be the key to understanding Alzheimer's disease. The blood brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective barrier that allows very few unwanted substances pass through it. However, there are some bacteria and fungi that have found a way to cross the BBB and cause [...]

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12. Sources used (Not including the images)

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12. Sources used (Not including the images)

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1. https://www.nature.com/articles/nrdp201826

2. https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/invasive/symptoms.html

3. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22308-invasive-candidiasis

4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18778118/#:~:text=Risk%20factors%20are%20diverse%20and,years%2C%20and%20recent%20abdominal%20surgery.

5. https://carbonalert.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Pappasbio2020.pdf

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aWm4kYLpwU (Youtube Video)

7. https://oxsci.org/yeast-on-the-brain-could-fungi-be-linked-to-alzheimers-disease/