The cause of seborrhoeic dermatitis (SD) is still unknown, although many attempts have been made to relate it to infection by Malassezia. Recently Midgley, Gueho & Guillot revised the genus Malassezia to 7 species. We detected Malassezia spores by direct counting using cellotape stripped skin of healthy students or patients; we also cultured Malassezia from these subjects. Strains were classified as species according to Guillot's Tween test.
Results and conclusion: Male students had many more spores than females. Spore numbers were not correlated to sebum levels. M. globosa or M. furfur appeared to be the main strain associated with SD. Treatment with anti-fungal agents showed that the elimination of lesions paralleled the reduction innumber of Malassezia spores. In contrast to corticosteroid treatment, anti-fungal agents showed low recurrence rates. Anti-fungal agents thus have potential value as a new therapeutic agent -an alternative to corticosteroid- for the treatment of SD.