Chicago Sky Blue Research Articles

Neuroprotective Effects of VGLUT1 Inhibition in HT22 Cells Overexpressing VGLUT1 Under Oxygen Glucose Deprivation Conditions

Glutamate (Glu) is a major excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, essential for synaptic plasticity, neuronal activity, and memory formation. However, its dysregulation leads to excitotoxicity, implicated in neurodegenerative diseases and brain ischemia. Vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs) regulate Glu loading into synaptic vesicles, crucial for maintaining optimal extracellular Glu levels. This study investigates the neuroprotective effects of VGLUT1 inhibition in HT22 cells overexpressing VGLUT1 under oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD) conditions. HT22 cells, a hippocampal neuron model, were transduced with lentiviral vectors to overexpress VGLUT1. Cells were subjected to OGD, with pre-incubation of Chicago Sky Blue 6B (CSB6B), an unspecific VGLUT inhibitor. Cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, mitochondrial membrane potential, and hypoxia-related protein markers (PARP1, AIF, NLRP3) were assessed. Results indicated that VGLUT1 overexpression increased vulnerability to OGD, evidenced by higher LDH release and reduced cell viability. CSB6B treatment improved cell viability and reduced LDH release in OGD conditions, particularly at 0.1 μM and 1.0 μM concentrations. Moreover, CSB6B preserved mitochondrial membrane potential and decreased levels of PARP1, AIF, and NLRP3 proteins, suggesting neuroprotective effects through mitigating excitotoxicity. This study demonstrates that VGLUT1 inhibition could be a promising therapeutic strategy for ischemic brain injury, warranting further investigation into selective VGLUT1 inhibitors.

Efficacy and Rapidity of Potassium Hydroxide Mount and Modified Chicago Sky Blue 6B Stain with Potassium Hydroxide in Fungal Keratitis Detection.

To compare the efficacy and rapidity of direct microscopic detection of fungal elements from corneal ulcers between 10% potassium hydroxide (KOH) and 1% Chicago Sky Blue 6B (CSB) in 10% KOH (CSB-KOH). Thirty patients with clinically suspected fungal keratitis were recruited. Participants with impending corneal perforation were excluded. Two slides were smeared with corneal ulcer scrapings from the ulcer's edge and base for comparison of fungal staining solutions. One slide was infused with KOH, and the other slide was filled with CSB-KOH. Additional scraping was collected for inoculation on Sabouraud dextrose agar for fungal culture. The sensitivity, specificity and rapidity of both stainings were analyzed. The sensitivity of fungal culture, KOH, and CSB-KOH were 43.75% (95% confidence interval [CI], 19.75%-70.12%), 62.50% (95% CI, 35.43%-84.80%), and 87.50% (95% CI, 61.65%-98.45%), respectively. The specificity were 100% (95% CI, 69.15%-100%) of both stainings and fungal culture which analyzed from 16 fungal keratitis cases by laboratory and clinical diagnosis. Mean CSB-KOH examination time was quicker than KOH with the mean time difference of 5.6 minutes (95% CI, 3.22-7.98 minutes) and p-value < 0.001. CSB-KOH was more effective and faster than KOH in detecting fungal elements from corneal ulcers. Therefore, CSB-KOH may be beneficial in diagnosing fungal keratitis and preventing blindness. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first use of CSB stain in fungal keratitis detection.

Chicago sky blue 6B exerts neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects on focal cerebral ischemia

Brain ischemia is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability worldwide. Cessation of the blood supply to the brain directly stimulates many pathological events, including glutamate overload and neuroinflammation. Glial cell activation occurs shortly after ischemia onset, resulting in the release of proinflammatory cytokines and exacerbation of the detrimental effects of neuroinflammation. Proinflammatory signals influence the infiltration of a wide range of immune cells, including neutrophils, T cells and monocytes/macrophages. In this study, we aimed to verify the potential anti-inflammatory effect of Chicago Sky Blue 6B (CSB6B) in a rat model of focal cerebral ischemia (90-minute middle cerebral artery occlusion). CSB6B was administered 2 h before (pretreatment) or 1.5 h after reperfusion onset (posttreatment). A model of ischemic preconditioning was used as the comparator to pretreatment with CSB6B. The results of indicated that posttreatment with CSB6B had profound anti-inflammatory effects that were associated with reduced neurological deficits and a decreased infarct volume. At 24 h, 3 days and 7 days after brain ischemia, CSB6B administration reduced the protein levels of proinflammatory cytokines, such as Il1β, Il6, Il18 and TNFα, in the cerebral cortex and the dorsal striatum. Treatment with CSB6B also limited the scope of microglia and astrocyte activation and the infiltration of immune cells. Taken together, this study shows that compounds such as CSB6B might be promising pharmacological tools; however, further studies on the improvements in the drug-like properties of these compounds must be undertaken.

Porous Ceramic ZnO Nanopowders: Features of Photoluminescence, Adsorption and Photocatalytic Properties

The grainy and porous ZnO powders were synthesized by thermal decomposition of zinc nitrate and polymer-salt method. The comparative study of the crystal structure, morphology, luminescence, adsorptive and photocatalytic properties of ZnO powders was carried out. The addition of PVP in initial aqueous solutions of zinc nitrate determines the remarkable change of powder morphology and decreases the average size of ZnO nanocrystals. Luminescence spectra in the visible spectral range indicate the significant difference of structural defects types in grainy and porous powders. Porous powders demonstrate high ability for singlet oxygen photogeneration and photocatalytic properties. The kinetics of diazo dye adsorption on both powders is described successfully by the kinetic equation of pseudo-second order. Kinetic dependencies of photocatalytic oxidation of Chicago Sky Blue diazo dye using as grain ZnO powder so as porous ZnO powders are described by the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model but process rates are different. Porous ZnO powder demonstrates strong ability for photogeneration of singlet oxygen under visible irradiation and high photocatalytic properties (rate constant 0.042 min−1).

Cu-Doped Porous ZnO-ZnAl2O4 Nanocomposites Synthesized by Polymer-Salt Method for Photocatalytic Water Purification

In this work, the adsorption and photocatalytic properties of ZnO-ZnAl2O4-CuO nanosized porous composites synthesized by the polymer-salt method have been studied. To evaluate the efficiency of adsorption, experiments were carried out on the decolorization of aqueous solutions of the Chicago Sky Blue diazo dye. The adsorption process is divided into two stages, at the first stage, the dye is rapidly adsorbed on the outer surface of the composite particles (kf = 0.0073 min−1), at the second stage, the dye diffuses into the pores of the material (kf = 0.0007 min−1). It was noted that the rate of photocatalytic decomposition of the dye (kf = 0.021 min−1) is higher than the rate of the adsorption process, which indicates the occurrence of photocatalytic decomposition of dye molecules both on the surface of the composites and in the liquid phase. With an increase in the light intensity, the photocatalytic process is significantly accelerated, linearly at low intensities, and at high intensities (I > 100 mW/cm2) the dependence becomes a power law.

Increased demand for FAD synthesis in differentiated and stem pancreatic cancer cells is accomplished by modulating FLAD1 gene expression: the inhibitory effect of Chicago Sky Blue.

FLAD1, along with its FAD synthase (FADS, EC 2.7.7.2) product, is crucial for flavin homeostasis and, due to its role in the mitochondrial respiratory chain and nuclear epigenetics, is closely related to cellular metabolism. Therefore, it is not surprising that it could be correlated with cancer. To our knowledge, no previous study has investigated FLAD1 prognostic significance in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Thus, in the present work, the FAD synthesis process was evaluated in two PDAC cell lines: (a) PANC-1- and PANC-1-derived cancer stem cells (CSCs), presenting the R273H mutation in the oncosuppressor p53, and (b) MiaPaca2 and MiaPaca2-derived CSCs, presenting the R248W mutation in p53. As a control, HPDE cells expressing wt-p53 were used. FADS expression/activity increase was found with malignancy and even more with stemness. An increased FAD synthesis rate in cancer cell lines is presumably demanded by the increase in the FAD-dependent lysine demethylase 1 protein amount as well as by the increased expression levels of the flavoprotein subunit of complex II of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, namely succinate dehydrogenase. With the aim of proposing FADS as a novel target for cancer therapy, the inhibitory effect of Chicago Sky Blue on FADS enzymatic activity was tested on the recombinant 6His-hFADS2 (IC50 = 1.2 μm) and PANC-1-derived CSCs' lysate (IC50 = 2-10 μm). This molecule was found effective in inhibiting the growth of PANC-1 and even more of its derived CSC line, thus assessing its role as a potential chemotherapeutic drug.

Ceramic ZnO-SnO2-Fe2O3 Powders and Coatings -Effective Photogenerators of Reactive Oxygen Species

Ceramic ZnO-SnO2-Fe2O3 powders and transparent coatings on glasses prepared using the non-isothermal polymer-salt method demonstrate a strong ability to generate chemically active oxygen species under UV and visible irradiation. Crystal structures and morphologies of these materials were studied using the XRD and the SEM analysis. It was found that there are significant differences in the crystal structure of ceramic powders and thin coatings. The powders consist of randomly oriented oxide nanocrystals of size ~47 nm. The strong orientation of the ZnO nanocrystals due to their interaction with the glass substrate is observed in the coating structure. Experimental data show that thin ceramic coatings are transparent (~90%) in the visible spectral range and the band gap of the ceramic material is 3.44 eV. The band gap value of this multi-component ceramic material is described sufficiently using Verlag’s law. Ceramic powders and coatings demonstrate the intensive photogeneration of reactive oxygen species, both in liquid and air. High photocatalytic activity of ZnO-SnO2-Fe2O3 ceramic coatings and powders was observed upon the oxidation of the diazo dye, Chicago Sky Blue. In the presence of transparent photocatalytic coating, the value of the constant rate of the dye photodecomposition was high (k = 0.056 min−1). It was found that, in spite of their short life time, photogenerated reactive oxygen species demonstrate the ability to decompose dye molecules located up to a distance of 0.5 mm from the surface of ceramic coating. Obtained experimental results suggest that the prepared ceramic materials are promising for different practical applications of the photocatalytic materials.

Inhibition of Vesicular Glutamate Transporters (VGLUTs) with Chicago Sky Blue 6B Before Focal Cerebral Ischemia Offers Neuroprotection

Brain ischemia is one of the leading causes of death and long-term disability in the world. Interruption of the blood supply to the brain is a direct stimulus for many pathological events. The massive vesicular release of glutamate (Glu) after ischemia onset induces excitotoxicity, which is a potent stress on neurons. Loading of presynaptic vesicles with Glu is the first step of glutamatergic neurotransmission. Vesicular glutamate transporters 1, 2, and 3 (VGLUT1, 2, and 3) are the main players involved in filling presynaptic vesicles with Glu. VGLUT1 and VGLUT2 are expressed mainly in glutamatergic neurons. Therefore, the possibility of pharmacological modulation to prevent ischemia-related brain damage is attractive. In this study, we aimed to determine the effect of focal cerebral ischemia on the spatiotemporal expression of VGLUT1 and VGLUT2 in rats. Next, we investigated the influence of VGLUT inhibition with Chicago Sky Blue 6B (CSB6B) on Glu release and stroke outcome. The effect of CSB6B pretreatment on infarct volume and neurological deficit was compared with a reference model of ischemic preconditioning. The results of this study indicate that ischemia upregulated the expression of VGLUT1 in the cerebral cortex and in the dorsal striatum 3 days after ischemia onset. The expression of VGLUT2 was elevated in the dorsal striatum and in the cerebral cortex 24 h and 3 days after ischemia, respectively. Microdialysis revealed that pretreatment with CSB6B significantly reduced the extracellular Glu concentration. Altogether, this study shows that inhibition of VGLUTs might be a promising therapeutic strategy for the future.

Comparison of three staining techniques for rapid diagnosis of feline dermatophytosis

Feline dermatophytosis is a commonly encountered fungal skin disease in cats. Skin scrapings from cats with varying degrees of clinical signs were collected and subjected to microscopic and cultural examination. The clinical samples were stained with three different stains, lactophenol cotton blue (LPCB), Chicago sky blue (CSB) and Calcofluor white (CW) and were subjected to microscopic examination for fungal spores. The results of this microscopic examination were analysed and compared with growth of dermatophytes in Dermatophyte test medium (DTM). Based on cultural isolation, dermatophytosis was confirmed in 36 out of 82 cases tested. Comparison of staining techniques revealed that CW staining had better sensitivity (97.22 per cent), specificity (65.22 per cent) and overall agreement with cultures in DTM. Occurrence was found to be higher in kittens less than six months of age and long-haired breeds.

Фотокаталитические и адсорбционные свойства нанокомпозитов ZnO/ZnAl-=SUB=-2-=/SUB=-O-=SUB=-4-=/SUB=-/Cu

Experimental results on photobleaching of Chicago Sky Blue diazo dye solutions using ZnO/ZnAl2O4/Cu photocatalytic nanocomposites are presented. Data on the crystal structure and morphology of these nanocomposites obtained by the polymer-salt method are presented. The results of studies of the kinetics of the processes of photobleaching of dye solutions and its adsorption on the surface of powdered nanocomposites showed that the experimental data correspond to known kinetic models using the first and second order rate equations for these processes.

Mechanism of inhibition of bacterial RNA helicases by diazo dyes and implications for antimicrobial drug development

RNA helicases represent attractive drug targets as their activity is linked to several human diseases and impacts microbial infectious processes. While some inhibitors of human RNA helicases demonstrated therapeutic potential as anticancer and antiviral drugs in preclinical trials, chemical inhibition of microbial RNA helicases is less investigated. Here, we address this matter by focusing on the RhlE proteobacterial group of RNA helicases. Having previously shown that the RhlE2 RNA helicase is important for the virulence of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we screened a library of 1280 molecules for inhibitors of RhlE2 RNA-dependent ATP hydrolytic activity. The most potent inhibitor is the diazo compound Chicago Sky Blue (CSB). Using hydrogen–deuterium exchange mass spectrometry and biochemical assays, we mapped CSB binding to RhlE2 catalytic core and defined its inhibitory mechanism. Targeting microbial RNA helicases as therapeutic strategy is challenging due to potential side-effects linked to protein conservation across life kingdoms. Interestingly, our structure–activity relationship analysis delineates other diazo dyes closely related to CSB differentially affecting RhlE homologs. Our work could thus be exploited for future drug development studies, which are extremely timely considering the increasing spread of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens.

Diagnostic utility of Chicago sky blue stain in superficial dermatophytosis

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Dermatophyte infections are one of the commonest presentations to a dermatology OPD. The clinical lesions are highly variable and closely resemble other skin diseases, thus it is important to confirm one’s diagnosis using rapid, cheap methods.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> Skin scrapings from the lesions of 352 suspected cases of dermatophytosis were subjected to KOH mount and KOH with Chicago sky blue (CSB) stain for direct microscopic examination and culture using Sabouraud’s dextrose agar (SDA). Taking the culture as the gold standard method for diagnosis, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) of KOH mount and CSB staining method was calculated. Kappa statistics were used to determine the degree of congruence between the various diagnostic methods.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Direct microscopy with CSB stain, KOH mount and mycological culture showed positive results in 251 (71.3%), 227 (64.5%) and 292 (82.9%) patients, respectively. Cohen’s Kappa was used to see the agreement between KOH mount and culture (Kappa=0.09) which was statistically significant (p<0.05) at 95% CI. CSB staining and Culture (Kappa=0.09) also showed negligible agreement (Kappa=0.09) which was statistically significant (p<0.05). CSB staining and KOH mount showed substantial agreement (Kappa=0.8) which statistically significant (p<0.05).</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> The addition of CSB stain to KOH provides a colour contrast that highlights the fungal elements well, making interpretation easy which increases the overall diagnostic accuracy. CSB stain is inexpensive, easily available and provides a rapid method to diagnose dermatophytosis.</p>

Silver Nanoparticle-Intercalated Cotton Fiber for Catalytic Degradation of Aqueous Organic Dyes for Water Pollution Mitigation.

Azo dyes are commonly used in textile color processing for their wide array of vibrant colors. However, in recent years these dyes have become of concern in wastewater management given their toxicity to humans and the environment. In the present work, researchers remediated water contaminated with azo dyes using silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) intercalated within cotton fabric as a catalyst, for their enhanced durability and reusability, in a reductive degradation method. Three azo dyes—methyl orange (MO), Congo red (CR), and Chicago Sky Blue 6B (CSBB)—were investigated. The azo degradation was monitored by UV/vis spectroscopy, degradation capacity, and turnover frequency (TOF). The Ag NP–cotton catalyst exhibited excellent degradation capacity for the dyes, i.e., MO (96.4% in 30 min), CR (96.5% in 18.5 min), and CSBB (99.8% in 21 min), with TOFs of 0.046 min−1, 0.082 min−1, and 0.056 min−1, respectively, using a 400 mg loading of catalyst for 100 mL of 25 mg L−1 dye. To keep their high reusability while maintaining high catalytic efficiency of >95% degradation after 10 cycles, Ag NPs immobilized within cotton fabric have promising potential as eco-friendly bio-embedded catalysts.

Chicago Sky Blue diazo-dye release from poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) electrospun nanofibers

Electrospun Poly (methyl methacrylate) fibrous nonwovens containing diazo-dye Chicago Sky Blue (CSB) and methyl cellulose (Methocel A15 LV) were fabricated and explored for CSB release for therapeutic purposes. The role of Methocel was to accelerate CSB release and make it tunable in the 20 h to 11 days range. The spectrofluorometric analysis revealed that the release rate and the ultimate released amount were affected by the nonwoven thickness, the surrounding liquid medium (DI water or PBS), wettability of the fiber mat, and the Methocel concentration. In several experiments some intriguing and repeatable oscillations in the amount of the released CSB in the presence of Methocel were observed and accompanied by the appearance of a new fluorescence peak at the wavelength of 680 nm. The Raman spectroscopy was also used to elucidate the nature of such oscillations. A kinetic mechanism is also proposed to explain the oscillations and the appearance of a new fluorescence peak by CSB dimerization and formation of relatively stable CSB dimers.

Synthesis of new Zn-decorated metal-organic frameworks for enhanced removal of carcinogenic textile dye: equilibrium and kinetic modeling studies

This paper describes the synthesis and characterization of Zn2+ decorated (adipic and terephthalic acid as linkers) piperazine-based metal-organic framework (P-MOFs) and their extraction behavior toward the Chicago sky blue (CSB) dye. The formation of Zn2+-decorated P-MOFs was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, BET surface area analysis and TGA. Adsorption behavior of the synthesized P-MOFs was explored through solid-phase adsorption (batch method) prior to UV-Vis spectrophotometric determination. Adsorption parameters, including adsorbent dosage, pH of solution, dye concentration, and time, were optimized. Excellent percentage removal of 94% and 95% for AP-Zn-MOF and TP-Zn-MOF, respectively, was achieved at pH 7.5. Kinetics studies indicated that the synthesized adsorbents AP-Zn-MOF and TP-Zn-MOF followed the pseudo-second-order rate model with R 2 value 0.9989. The Freundlich isotherm with high R 2 value as compared to Langmuir isotherm indicated that CSB adsorption for the synthesized MOFs follows multilayer adsorption.

Evaluation of Fungal Elements in Dystrophic Nails Using Chicago Sky Blue Stain

Background: Dystrophic nails represent an alteration in nail morphology that can occur due to various disorders. Although KOH is used commonly in the diagnosis, the sensitivity and specificity of KOH are less. Chicago sky blue (CSB) stain when used with KOH provides color contrast, to aid the detection of fungal elements, and is a simple and inexpensive method. Materials and Methods: Nail scrapings from the surface and subungual areas and nail clippings were examined with 40% KOH, CSB stain, and also subjected to fungal culture. Results: The detection rate of fungal elements in dystrophic nails in our hospital-based study was 46.5%. The sensitivity of KOH was 36.36% and CSB staining was 66.6% using fungal culture as a gold standard. Conclusion: CSB stain serves as a useful, simple, and rapid method for detecting the presence of fungal elements.

Assessment of a novel aminated magnetic adsorbent with excellent adsorption capacity for dyes and drugs

Dyes and drugs with high toxicity and low biodegradability pose risk to human health and ecological security, and should be purified efficiently from effluents before discharge. Traditional adsorbents are limited by the insufficient active adsorption sites and low stability. In this study, a novel aminated magnetic adsorbent (MCTs) was fabricated via two cross-linking steps using chitosan and triethylenetetramine to fill the gaps between current adsorbent and performance requirements. The morphological and physicochemical characteristics of the as-prepared MCTs were determined and identified with the aid of several characterization techniques. The adsorption performance of dyes and drugs was also investigated and represented by their adsorption capacities. In particular, the adsorption capacities of Congo Red, Chicago Sky Blue, Reactive Brilliant Red, and Ibuprofen were 583.11, 465.01, 403.12, and 291.71 mg/g, respectively. They also remained at around 80% after four reuse cycles. MCTs were adsorbed via a monolayer spontaneous chemical reaction, and hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interaction were the dominant adsorption mechanisms. These results demonstrated that the preparation of MCTs via two cross-linking steps enhanced the adsorbents’ adsorption capacity, reusability, and stability. They provided a new perspective for the preparation of high-efficient adsorbents and the purification of dye- and drug-polluted wastewater.

Utility of Chicago Sky Blue Stain in Rapid Diagnosis of Mycotic Infections

Introduction: Diagnosis of fungal infection is mostly relied on clinical skills assisted by array of diagnostic methods. Culture and molecular testing are specific but lacks sensitivity and are labour intensive, time consuming, expensive and not readily available. Direct examination using Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) mount is most often practiced but lacks contrast and requires a skilled eye to interpret. Chicago Sky Blue 6B (CSB) stain has shown a promising result providing coloured contrast and better sensitivity and specificity. Aim: To evaluate the rapid diagnosis of fungal infections using CSB stain over conventional KOH mounts. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was done at RIMS, Raipur catering to rural and tribal population in Chhattisgarh in Central India over a period of 10 months after due approval from Institutional Ethics Committee. Clinically, suspected cases of mycosis belonging to all ages of either gender attending Outpatient Department (OPD) of Dermatology and Ophthalmology Department, who were advised mycological evaluation by physician but not on treatment were included in study. The samples were processed with KOH mount and CSB stain and were observed by two independent observers. The data was managed in Microsoft office Excel and was analysed using tests of proportion and Pearson’s Chi-square test for significance. Results: A total of 128 participants were involved in the study with a male preponderance of 96/128 (75%) as against 32/128 (25%). A total of 110 patients were diagnosed using CSB 6B stain whereas 80 patients were diagnosed using KOH mount. CSB 6B was evaluated against the conventional KOH mount using a Chi-square test and was found to be highly significant with Chi-square value of 39.74 with 1 degree of freedom and p-value of <0.001. Conclusion: This study brought out the significance of CSB 6B stain over conventional KOH mount with better sensitivity, specificity, Negative Predictive Value (NPV) and Positive Predictive Value (PPV) and ease and rapidity of diagnosis with better colour contrast helping clinicians with prompt initiation of treatment with a laboratory confirmation.

A cross sectional observational study of pediatric dermatophytosis: Changing clinico mycological patterns in Western India

Introduction: The last few years have seen a significant rise in the incidence of dermatophytosis across India. Vulnerability of children to this disease is more than adults due to multiple factors. However, limited data are available regarding clinical and mycological variants of dermatophytosis in children. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was designed at the dermatology outpatient department in Mumbai. The aim of the study was to assess the clinical profile and identify the causative fungal species in pediatric dermatophytosis. Sixty-seven children below 14 years of age with a clinical diagnosis of dermatophytosis were included by the simple random sampling method. A detailed history (duration of lesions, topical creams used, similar lesions in contacts, contact with pets, and other comorbidities/comedications) was taken and clinical examination (sites of involvement, number of lesions, associated erythema/scaling, morphology, and extent of lesions) was done followed by fungal mount preparation (potassium hydroxide (KOH) and KOH with Chicago Sky Blue stain) and culture of the scrapings on Sabouraud's agar medium containing chloramphenicol and cycloheximide. Microsoft Excel and SPSS-20 software were used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 42 male and 25 female children (mean age – 6.2 years) were included in the study. Prior topical applications of steroids±antifungal combinations were used in 57 cases (85%) before presenting to the dermatologist. About 76.12% (n = 51) of cases had positive family/contact history. Thirty-five children (52.2 %) had extensive disease. Multiple atypical clinical patterns were observed: tinea incognito, irregular geographic plaque, tinea recidivans, tinea pseudo-imbricata, penile tinea, and annular plaques on scalp. Trichophyton mentagrophytes complex was the most common isolate from cultures grown from scrapings, in 14/19 cases (73.7%). Conclusion: This clinico-mycological study highlights the changing clinical patterns (including Tinea pseudoimbricata, geographically patterned plaques) and shift in the etiological agent in childhood dermatophytosis. The study brings into focus the increasing proportion of T. mentagrophytes, high percentages of topical steroid abuse by parents in children, and positive family/close-contact history in children.

The Sensitivity and Specificity of Chicago Sky Blue (CSB) Dye in Comparisson with Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) Method for Superficial Dermatomycosis

Abstract: Superficial dermatomycosis is a skin, nail and hair infection caused by fungal pathogen. Based on the pathogen, this infection can be divided into dermatophytosis, pityriasis versicolor and superficial candidiasis. The rapid and proper diagnosis is necessary to determine the initial theraphy and prevent the treatment delay. Superficial dermatomycosis diagnosis can be performed using anamnesis, physical examination or supporting investigation. The routine investigation method commonly use Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) because the KOH method is easy to be performed, rapid, simple and affordable. Chicago Sky Blue (CSB) is a dye to give a better color contrast to the fungi so the fungi would be easier to be detected. Objectives of this research is to observe the sensitivity and specifity difference of Chicago Sky Blue (CSB) dye and Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) methods for Superficial Dermatomycosis. The research was performed using cross sectional design analitical obsevation with 30 research subjects. The subjects consist of 15 superficial dermatomycosis patients and 15 non-superficial dermatomycosis patients. The samples were taken from the patients lesion swabs. The samples were checked using KOH and CSB, then observed by the medical analyst. The superficial dermatomycosis samples consist of mostly dermathophytosis (53.33%), then pityriasis versicolor (26.67%) and superficial candidiasis (20%). The sensitivity and specificity of KOH were 86.67% and 100%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of CSB were 93.33% and 100%, respectively. The CSB dye method has a higher sensitivity than KOH. The fungal elements are nicely dyed and more easily detected using CSB dye. Keywords: KOH, Chicago Sky Blue, sensitivity, specificity, superficial dermatomycosis