title: In vivo activity of bifonazole in guinea pigs: its characteristic features and comparison with clotrimazole.
abstract: To investigate the in vivo antimycotic activity of bifonazole, a new imidazole antifungal agent, the therapeutic effectiveness of several bifonazole preparations in the topical treatment of experimental Trichophyton mentagrophytes infection in guinea-pigs was tested. 1% cream, 1% solution or 1% polyethylene glycol solution of bifonazole was applied to infected sites on the skin at a dose of 0.3 g/day for 14 or 21 consecutive days, starting on the 3rd or 5th day after the infection. In all experiments, clotrimazole was employed as a reference drug in comparable formulations. The estimation of efficacy of treatment with active formulations was made on the basis of the score of skin lesion and the rate of positive skin cultures in comparison with those for infected, untreated or placebo-treated controls. The results are summarized as follows: (1) The treatment with each bifonazole preparation resulted in a significant improvement in local symptoms and complete heal as 6-10 days after initiation of application. After completion of the 14-day or 21-day treatment course, local skin cultures revealed either an elimination of or a significant decrease in the viable fungus count. (2) The therapeutic effectiveness of bifonazole appeared to be dependent on the duration of treatment; treatment in the 21-day course was more effective than that in the 14-day course, irrespective of the type of drug preparation. All these results clearly demonstrate a favorable topical efficacy of each bifonazole preparation in the guinea pig dermatophytosis model.
mesh_terms: D000287:Administration, Topical; D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003022:Clotrimazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D014005:Tinea / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014249:Trichophyton / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D007093:Imidazoles; D003022:Clotrimazole; C036596:bifonazole