| Summary: | This second volume of PDR SPECIAL TOPICS contains five review articles, covering nearly the entire field of fungal diseases in humans as well as therapeutic approaches. The main emphasis of the book lies in antifungal therapy: the most relevant information on the present state of the art of antifungal chemotherapy for dermatomycoses, subcutaneous and invasive mycoses is summarized, and open questions and unsolved problems are presented. The first chapter deals with the various growth forms of the pathogenic fungi and classifies them based on their sexual cycle and on their RNA/DNA patterns. The second chapter describes the clinical manifestations of the complete set of human fungal infections known today. In addition, clinical symptoms, data on prevalence, overall importance, and epidemiology are given. The third chapter is devoted to diverse laboratory methods in the field of diagnosis of fungal infections, and the fourth and main chapter presents a complete overview of current antifungal therapy. The increase in fungal infections and the improvement of therapeutical options leading to a demand for reliable antifungal susceptibility testing is the topic of the closing chapter. The volume aims at the practitioner who wants to be abreast of the latest achievements in this field and also presents an ideal instrument for advanced students to further their studies in this important and difficult domain
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