title: Close association between oral Candida species and oral mucosal disorders in patients with xerostomia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Heightened interest in oral health has lead to an increase in patients complaining of xerostomia, which is associated with various oral mucosal disorders. In this study, we investigated the relationship between Candida species and oral mucosal disorders in patients with xerostomia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated whole salivary flow rate and presence of oral mucosal disorders in 48 patients with xerostomia and 15 healthy controls. The number of Candida species was measured as colony-forming units after propagation on selective medium. Identification of Candida at the species level was carried out by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. We then examined the relationship between Candida species and oral mucosal symptoms.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with controls, patients with xerostomia exhibited significantly decreased whole salivary flow rate, increased rate of oral mucosal symptoms, and higher numbers of Candida. Salivary flow rate negatively correlated with the number Candida. Among patients with oral candidiasis, Candida albicans was isolated from the tongue mucosa and Candida glabrata was isolated from the angle of the mouth.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that particular Candida species are involved in the pathogenesis of oral mucosal disorders in patients with xerostomia.
authors.affiliation: Section of Oral and Maxillofacial Oncology, Division of Maxillofacial Diagnostic and Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Dental Science, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shinozaki
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moriyama
authors.forename: J-N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Hayashida
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Maehara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ieda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakamura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D041221:Candida glabrata / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002613:Cheilitis / Q000150:complications; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004271:DNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012859:Sjogren's Syndrome / Q000150:complications; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014060:Tongue Diseases / Q000150:complications; D014987:Xerostomia / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D004271:DNA, Fungal