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In Vivo Confocal Microscopy: A Standard Operating Procedure for the Detection of Demodex Mites at the Eyelid Margin
Published on: July 3, 2025
690
Blepharitis Caused by Demodex
Mehtap Demirkazık1, İsmail Soner Koltaş1
1Çukurova Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Parazitoloji Anabilim Dalı, Adana, Türkiye
Turkiye Parazitolojii Dergisi
|March 27, 2020
Summary
Demodex folliculorum mites cause demodicosis, a skin disease. This study found that Demodex infestation in blepharitis patients increases with age, with a higher prevalence in older individuals.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Dermatology
- Medical Parasitology
Background:
- Demodicosis is a human skin disease caused by Demex folliculorum and Demex brevis mites.
- Demex infestation commonly affects hair follicles, specifically sebaceous and meibomian glands.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the age and sex distribution of Demodex infestation among patients diagnosed with blepharitis.
Main Methods:
- Eyelash samples were collected from 335 patients with blepharitis, visual impairment, or conjunctivitis between 2011 and 2018.
- Samples were examined within one hour of collection in the laboratory of Medical Parasitology at Çukurova University Medical Faculty.
Main Results:
- Demex folliculorum was identified in 143 (42.6%) of the 335 patients studied.
- Among patients with Demex folliculorum, 65% were male and 35% were female.
- The mean age of patients with Demex folliculorum (64.1 years) was higher than those without the infestation (52.7 years).
Conclusions:
- The prevalence of Demex infestation in blepharitis patients demonstrates a positive correlation with increasing age.
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