Cryptococcosis: clinical and biological aspects

The incidence of cryptococcosis rose dramatically with the advent of the ac quired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic in the early 1980s until the early 1990s. The frequency of cryptococcosis has been declining since m id 1990s in Europe and America due to the development of more effective ant iretroviral therapy and prophylactic treatment regimens designed to prevent fungal infections. The disease, however, is still recognized as one of the most common life-threatening opportunistic fungal infections in immunocomp romised patients, particularly among those infected with human immunodefici ency virus (HIV). For this reason, research interest in clinical and biolog ical aspects of the disease remains high. In addition to previously embarke d areas of research, the cryptococcal research community has taken advantag e of the current sequencing technology and initiated genome sequencing of C ryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans. This review includes various areas of research interest ranging from pathobiology, biochemistry and immunology , to genomics.