{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T02:45:21Z","timestamp":1760237121260,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,5]],"date-time":"2020-03-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1583366400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JoF"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Phaeohyphomycosis of the central nervous system (CNS) is a life-threatening infection associated with severe morbidity. New approaches to treatment of CNS phaeohyphomycosis are critically needed. We therefore studied posaconazole with or without caspofungin for treatment of experimental CNS phaeohyphomycosis caused by Exserohilum rostratum. Each clinical isolate of E. rostratum isolate was inoculated intracisternally with 1.0 \u00d7 106 microconidia to fully anesthetized New Zealand White rabbits. Profound persistent neutropenia and immunosuppression were established and maintained using cytarabine and methylprednisolone, respectively. Study groups consisted of posaconazole suspension administered as oral formulation at 10 (PSC10) or 20 (PSC20) mg\/kg, caspofungin (CFG) at 2 mg\/kg intravenously (IV), combinations of PSC10+CFG or PSC20+CFG, and untreated controls (UC). Posaconazole produced a significant reduction of residual fungal burden of E. rostratum in cerebrum, cerebellum, spinal cord, and paravertebral muscle (p &lt; 0.01), in comparison to UC. The combination of PSC10+CFG and PSC20+CFG achieved full clearance of residual fungal burden from cerebrum, while only PSC20+CFG treated rabbits demonstrated clearance from cerebellum, spinal cord, and paravertebral muscle (p &lt; 0.01). These data correlated with the significant reduction of CSF (1\u21923)-\u03b2-d-glucan levels in rabbits treated with PSC20 and PSC20+CFG in comparison to those of UC (p &lt; 0.05). Posaconazole alone or in combination with caspofungin demonstrated significant antifungal efficacy in the treatment of experimental E. rostratum meningoencephalitis and warrants further study for treatment of CNS phaeohyphomycosis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jof6010033","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,6]],"date-time":"2020-03-06T07:33:46Z","timestamp":1583480026000},"page":"33","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Posaconazole Alone and in Combination with Caspofungin for Treatment of Experimental Exserohilum rostratum Meningoencephalitis: Developing New Strategies for Treatment of Phaeohyphomycosis of the Central Nervous System"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6811-4467","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ruta","family":"Petraitiene","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Transplantation-Oncology Infectious Diseases Program, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine of Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vidmantas","family":"Petraitis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Transplantation-Oncology Infectious Diseases Program, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine of Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA"},{"name":"Institute of Infectious Diseases and Pathogenic Microbiology, LT-59115 Prienai, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"BoBo Win","family":"Maung","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Transplantation-Oncology Infectious Diseases Program, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine of Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ethan","family":"Naing","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Transplantation-Oncology Infectious Diseases Program, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine of Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0237-9088","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Povilas","family":"Kavaliauskas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Transplantation-Oncology Infectious Diseases Program, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine of Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA"},{"name":"Institute of Infectious Diseases and Pathogenic Microbiology, LT-59115 Prienai, Lithuania"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Thomas J.","family":"Walsh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Transplantation-Oncology Infectious Diseases Program, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine of Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, Weill Cornell Medicine of Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology &amp; Immunology, Weill Cornell Medicine of Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"515","DOI":"10.1093\/clinids\/11.4.515","article-title":"Infections due to Xylohypha bantiana (Cladosporium trichoides)","volume":"11","author":"Dixon","year":"1989","journal-title":"Rev. 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