Cryptococcus

Cryptococcal infection (CI) is an infection caused by the fungus C. neoformans and is a fairly common infectious disease. This infection is caused by a yeast-like parasite that grows in human tissue and affects the cerebral cortex as well as other organs such as the spleen, lungs and liver.

The causative agent of CI belongs to the Basidiomycetes department, order of the Basidiomycetes class (Basidiomycota), a genus from the Mukorov group (representatives of the Hyphales order). The genus name is cryptococcus, which comes from the Greek kryptos, which means "secret", and kokkos, which is translated from ancient Greek as "grain". This mushroom was first described in 1837 by scientists Philippe Carré and Albert Moshe. However, the clinical signs of the disease caused by cryptococcal toxoidism were described by the scientist Otto Friedrich in 1542.

The pathogenesis of CI depends on the stage of the disease and the organ affected by the infection. For example, in epidermomycosis keratoides (when a cryptococcal infection affects the cornea), the fungus C. neoformens proliferates in the cornea, as a result of which the infection can spread to the conjunctiva. If the pituitary gland is affected, C. neoformen causes damage to the pituitary gland and sympathetic ganglia, which can lead to the development of brain damage. However, in most cases, CI proceeds