Ayyad Zartasht Khan, Fredrik Fineide, Jens Wohlmann, Kjell Gunnar Gundersen, Morten Gundersen, Miriam Kolko, Tor Paaske Utheim
{"title":"<i>Demodex folliculorum</i>.","authors":"Ayyad Zartasht Khan, Fredrik Fineide, Jens Wohlmann, Kjell Gunnar Gundersen, Morten Gundersen, Miriam Kolko, Tor Paaske Utheim","doi":"10.3390/diagnostics15121520","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Herein, we present scanning electron microscopy imagery of <i>Demodex folliculorum</i> on the eyelashes of a patient with a two-year history of dry, burning, and watery eyes. <i>Demodex</i> mites are part of the normal human skin flora, inhabiting hair follicles and sebaceous glands. However, in some individuals, they may contribute to ocular surface diseases, including blepharitis and dry eye disease. Symptoms often include itching, photophobia, and a foreign body sensation. The pathogenic role of <i>Demodex</i> is not fully understood but may involve microabrasions, gland obstruction, hypersensitivity reactions, and bacterial dysbiosis. The presence of collarettes at the base of eyelashes is a diagnostic hallmark. Although optimal treatment remains debated, options include topical tea tree oil, ivermectin, and a recently FDA-approved drug lotilaner. Our patient responded favorably to a two-month regimen of tea tree oil-based eyelid wipes. This case underscores the clinical relevance of <i>Demodex</i> infestation in chronic ocular discomfort and highlights the importance of diagnostics.</p>","PeriodicalId":11225,"journal":{"name":"Diagnostics","volume":"15 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12191991/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Diagnostics","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics15121520","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
Herein, we present scanning electron microscopy imagery of Demodex folliculorum on the eyelashes of a patient with a two-year history of dry, burning, and watery eyes. Demodex mites are part of the normal human skin flora, inhabiting hair follicles and sebaceous glands. However, in some individuals, they may contribute to ocular surface diseases, including blepharitis and dry eye disease. Symptoms often include itching, photophobia, and a foreign body sensation. The pathogenic role of Demodex is not fully understood but may involve microabrasions, gland obstruction, hypersensitivity reactions, and bacterial dysbiosis. The presence of collarettes at the base of eyelashes is a diagnostic hallmark. Although optimal treatment remains debated, options include topical tea tree oil, ivermectin, and a recently FDA-approved drug lotilaner. Our patient responded favorably to a two-month regimen of tea tree oil-based eyelid wipes. This case underscores the clinical relevance of Demodex infestation in chronic ocular discomfort and highlights the importance of diagnostics.
DiagnosticsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Clinical Biochemistry
CiteScore
4.70
自引率
8.30%
发文量
2699
审稿时长
19.64 days
期刊介绍:
Diagnostics (ISSN 2075-4418) is an international scholarly open access journal on medical diagnostics. It publishes original research articles, reviews, communications and short notes on the research and development of medical diagnostics. There is no restriction on the length of the papers. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical research in as much detail as possible. Full experimental and/or methodological details must be provided for research articles.