Department of Dermatology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel.
Int J Dermatol. 2013 Feb;52(2):231-3. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2012.05595.x.
Pityriasis versicolor (PV) is a common superficial fungal infection of the skin caused by Malassezia species. The clinical significance of each of these species is not fully understood. M. furfur has long been identified as the causative agent of PV. Several recent studies suggest that M. globosa is most frequently associated with PV.
The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of Malassezia species in affected and unaffected skin in Israeli patients with PV using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based culture-independent method.
Samples were taken from affected skin of 75 patients with PV (35 females and 40 males, age range 18-65 years) who visited our outpatient clinic and from unaffected skin in 26 patients for direct microscopy and detection of Malassezia species using a PCR-based method.
The major Malassezia species in PV was M. globosa, found in 97.3% (73 of 75) of samples from affected skin and 80.8% (21 of 26) samples of unaffected skin. M. restricta was associated with M. globosa in 1.3% (one of 75) of patients. No cases of M. furfur were detected in this study. There was no difference in the distribution of Malassezia species between affected and unaffected skin.
Based on the PCR test, we have shown that M. globosa is probably most frequently associated with PV.
花斑癣（PV）是一种常见的由马拉色菌引起的皮肤浅表真菌感染。这些物种中每一种的临床意义尚未完全清楚。糠秕马拉色菌长期以来被认为是 PV 的病原体。最近的几项研究表明，球形马拉色菌与 PV 的关联最密切。
本研究旨在使用基于聚合酶链反应（PCR）的非培养方法，检查以色列 PV 患者病损和非病损皮肤上马拉色菌属种的流行情况。
从 75 例就诊于我们门诊的 PV 患者（35 名女性和 40 名男性，年龄 18-65 岁）的病损皮肤和 26 例非病损皮肤中采集样本，直接镜检并使用基于 PCR 的方法检测马拉色菌属种。
PV 中主要的马拉色菌属种是球形马拉色菌，在 75 例病损皮肤样本中的 97.3%（73/75）和 26 例非病损皮肤样本中的 80.8%（21/26）中检出。在 1.3%（75 例中的 1 例）的患者中，发现 M. restricta 与 M. globosa 相关。本研究未检出 M. furfur。在病损和非病损皮肤之间，马拉色菌属种的分布无差异。
基于 PCR 检测，我们表明球形马拉色菌可能与 PV 关联最密切。
