Department of Parasitology, Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Medicine, Antakya/Hatay, Turkey.
Department of Hematology, Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Faculty of Medicine, Antakya/Hatay, Turkey.
J Med Entomol. 2019 Apr 16;56(3):599-602. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjy225.
Although demodicosis caused by Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis is widely seen throughout the world, the pathogenic mechanisms are not fully known. To the best of our knowledge, the effect of Demodex mites in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA) is not known. SCA is a genetic disease characterized by abnormal hemoglobin production and suppression of the immune system. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and Demodex density in SCA patients and to compare with healthy subjects. The study included 70 patients diagnosed with SCA and control group of 50 healthy individuals. Samples were taken from cheeks, forehead, nose, and chin and were examined microscopically. Infestation of ≥5 mites/cm2 was accepted as positive in the diagnosis. Demodex mite positivity was determined in 20 (28.6%) patients and none in subjects of the control group. In the SCA group, the mean number of mites was 26.10/cm2. A statistically significant correlation was found between Demodex mite positivity and the number of SCA symptom attacks experienced by the patients within the last 1 yr (P ≤ 0.001). No significant relationship was determined between Demodex mite positivity and age or gender (P = 0.56 and P = 0.11, respectively). Demodex mites are seen more often in SCA patients who suffer from a compromised immune system, and the presence of Demodex mites could be a risk factor in the appearance of SCA symptom attacks.
尽管由毛囊蠕形螨和短蠕形螨引起的蠕形螨病在世界各地广泛存在，但发病机制尚不完全清楚。据我们所知，目前还不知道螨虫对镰状细胞贫血（SCA）患者的影响。SCA 是一种遗传性疾病，其特征是血红蛋白生成异常和免疫系统受到抑制。本研究旨在确定 SCA 患者中蠕形螨的流行率和密度，并与健康对照组进行比较。该研究纳入了 70 名确诊为 SCA 的患者和 50 名健康对照组。从脸颊、额头、鼻子和下巴采集样本，并进行显微镜检查。诊断标准为≥5 只螨虫/cm2 为阳性。在 SCA 组中，有 20 名（28.6%）患者的螨虫阳性，而对照组中无一例阳性。在 SCA 组中，螨虫的平均数量为 26.10/cm2。患者在过去 1 年中经历的 SCA 症状发作次数与蠕形螨阳性之间存在统计学显著相关性（P ≤ 0.001）。未发现蠕形螨阳性与年龄或性别之间存在显著关系（P = 0.56 和 P = 0.11）。在免疫系统受损的 SCA 患者中，蠕形螨更为常见，并且蠕形螨的存在可能是 SCA 症状发作的一个危险因素。
