Symptoms were extreme fatigue, joint pain, headaches, diarrhea, abdominal pain.
Diagnosed with Blastocystis 3 months prior. Symptoms were chronic abdominal pain and alternating diarrhea/constipation
Rash Gallery
The first report of cutaneous involvement with Blastocystis occurred in 1993, and the reports have appeared consistently since then. We are collecting photographs of the rashes patients develop after they have become infected.
| Diffuse Pruritic Rash on Upper Torso (39-year old male, diagnosed at age 37) |
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| Ulcerous lesion and formation of red moles on forearm (patient
indicated red moles began appearing all over arm 4-years after diarrhea
began) Symptoms were extreme fatigue, joint pain, headaches, diarrhea, abdominal pain. |
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| Painful localized pruritic lesion on face of 8-year old female Diagnosed with Blastocystis 3 months prior. Symptoms were chronic abdominal pain and alternating diarrhea/constipation |
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| Biopsy taken from reddish-purple skin lesion on forearm shown by patient with laboratory diagnosis of "Many Blastocystis Hominis" in foreground. |
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1.0 Rash Case Reports
A list of PUBMED index case reports concerning skin rashes arising from Blastocystis infection follows:
Gupta R, Parsi K. Chronic urticaria due to Blastocystis hominis. Australas J Dermatol. 2006 May;47(2):117-9. PMID: 16637808
Cassano N, Scoppio BM, Loviglio MC, Vena GA.Remission of delayed pressure urticaria after eradication of Blastocystis hominis. Acta Derm Venereol. 2005;85(4):357-8. PMID: 16191864
Pasqui AL, Savini E, Saletti M, Guzzo C, Puccetti L, Auteri A. Chronic urticaria and blastocystis hominis infection: a case report. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2004 May-Jun;8(3):117-20. PMID: 15368795
Biedermann T, Hartmann K, Sing A, Przybilla B. Hypersensitivity to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and chronic urticaria cured by treatment of Blastocystis hominis infection. Br J Dermatol. 2002 Jun;146(6):1113-4. PMID: 12072100
Armentia A, Mendez J, Gomez A, Sanchis E, Fernandez A, de la Fuente R, Sanchez P. Urticaria by Blastocystis hominis. Successful treatment with paromomycin. Allergol Immunopathol (Madr). 1993 Jul-Aug;21(4):149-51. PMID: 8237719
Kick G, Rueff F, Przybilla B. Palmoplantar pruritus subsiding after Blastocystis hominis eradication. Acta Derm Venereol. 2002;82(1):60. PMID: 12013204
2.0 Proposed Mechanism
a. An inflammatory mechanism has been proposed (i.e. activation of IgG by gastrointestinal infection causes the skin rash)
b. Invasive infection - Blastocystis crosses into the patient's circulatory system and develops a localized infection in the skin.
3.0 Future Work
Blastocystis is a polymorphic organism, and some of its stages have been described as resembling fat cells and Leukocytes [Stensvold, 2006]. Additionally, it is non-motile and has no cell wall. It may be difficult to identify with direct microscopy.
BRF's focus is on two areas:
a. Development of an immuno-fluorescent stain to make it easier to identify Blastocystis cells with direct microscopy.
b. Use of molecular diagnostics, such as PCR testing, applied to biopsies and serum samples to identify Blastocystis cells.