Malassezia Skin Diseases in Humans

Although Malassezia yeasts are a part of the normal microflora, under certain conditions they can cause superficial skin infection, such as pityriasis versicolor (PV) and Malassezia folliculitis. Moreover the yeasts of the genus Malassezia have been associated with seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and, less commonly, with confluent and reticulated papillomatosis, onychomycosis, and transient acantholytic dermatosis. The study of the clinical role of Malassezia species has been surrounded by controversy due to the relative difficulty in isolation, cultivation, and identification. This review focuses on the clinical, mycologic, and immunologic aspects of the various skin diseases associated with Malassezia. Moreover, since there exists little information about the epidemiology and ecology of Malassezia species in the Italian population and the clinical significance of these species is not fully distinguished, we will report data about a study we carried out. The aim of our study was the isolation and the identification of Malassezia species in PV-affected skin and non-affected skin in patients with PV and in clinically healthy individuals without any Malassezia associated skin disease.