title: Neonatal Candidiasis: New Insights into an Old Problem at a Unique Host-Pathogen Interface.
abstract: Candidaspecies are the leading cause of invasive fungal infections in premature infants. Associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, these infections represent serious and sometimes catastrophic complications in the course of hospitalization of a preterm infant in the neonatal intensive care unit. Although virulence factors ofCandidaand the host defense mechanisms that are important in protection from candidiasis have been the subject of intensive study, considerably less is known about the features of this disease that are specific to premature neonates. As animal models for neonatal candidiasis have been developed, efforts to understand the similarities and differences of candidiasis in the neonatal host relative to other immunocompromised patients have begun to provide insights to these questions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, aarsenault@wihri.org.
authors.forename: Amanda B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Arsenault
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bliss
keywords: Candida; animal model; candidiasis; host defense; neonate; virulence