PMID- 15050029
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20200929
IS  - 1476-7961 (Print)
IS  - 1476-7961 (Electronic)
IS  - 1476-7961 (Linking)
VI  - 2
IP  - 1
DP  - 2004 Mar 29
TI  - Dermatology for the practicing allergist: Tinea pedis and its complications.
PG  - 5
AB  - Tinea pedis is a chronic fungal infection of the feet, very often observed in 
      patients who are immuno-suppressed or have diabetes mellitus. The practicing 
      allergist may be called upon to treat this disease for various reasons. Sometimes 
      tinea infection may be mistaken for atopic dermatitis or allergic eczema. In 
      other patients, tinea pedis may complicate allergy and asthma and may contribute 
      to refractory atopic disease. Patients with recurrent cellulitis may be referred 
      to the allergist/immunologist for an immune evaluation and discovered to have 
      tinea pedis as a predisposing factor. From a molecular standpoint, superficial 
      fungal infections may induce a type2 T helper cell response (Th2) that can 
      aggravate atopy. Th2 cytokines may induce eosinophil recruitment and 
      immunoglobulin E (IgE) class switching by B cells, thereby leading to 
      exacerbation of atopic conditions. Three groups of fungal pathogens, referred to 
      as dermatophytes, have been shown to cause tinea pedis: Trychophyton sp, 
      Epidermophyton sp, and Microsporum sp. The disease manifests as a pruritic, 
      erythematous, scaly eruption on the foot and depending on its location, three 
      variants have been described: interdigital type, moccasin type, and 
      vesiculobullous type. Tinea pedis may be associated with recurrent cellulitis, as 
      the fungal pathogens provide a portal for bacterial invasion of subcutaneous 
      tissues. In some cases of refractory asthma, treatment of the associated tinea 
      pedis infection may induce remission in airway disease. Very often, protracted 
      topical and/or oral antifungal agents are required to treat this often 
      frustrating and morbid disease. An evaluation for underlying immuno-suppression 
      or diabetes may be indicated in patients with refractory disease.
FAU - Al Hasan, Muhannad
AU  - Al Hasan M
AD  - Department of Internal Medicine, James H, Quillen College of Medicine, East 
      Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN 37614, USA. krishnas@etsu.edu
FAU - Fitzgerald, S Matthew
AU  - Fitzgerald SM
FAU - Saoudian, Mahnaz
AU  - Saoudian M
FAU - Krishnaswamy, Guha
AU  - Krishnaswamy G
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20040329
PL  - England
TA  - Clin Mol Allergy
JT  - Clinical and molecular allergy : CMA
JID - 101152195
PMC - PMC419368
EDAT- 2004/03/31 05:00
MHDA- 2004/03/31 05:01
PMCR- 2004/03/29
CRDT- 2004/03/31 05:00
PHST- 2003/11/25 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2004/03/29 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2004/03/31 05:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2004/03/31 05:01 [medline]
PHST- 2004/03/31 05:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2004/03/29 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 1476-7961-2-5 [pii]
AID - 10.1186/1476-7961-2-5 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Clin Mol Allergy. 2004 Mar 29;2(1):5. doi: 10.1186/1476-7961-2-5.