The exciting future of antifungal therapy.
Invasive fungal infections are becoming more common. Current therapy is generally limited to amphotericin B in its parent and lipid formulations, 5-fluctyosine, fluconazole, and itraconazole. Toxicity, drug-drug interactions, and increasing fungal resistance reduce the usefulness of these drugs, and the need for new therapies is pressing. This article briefly discusses the limitations of antifungal minimum inhibitory testing, and then summarizes new antifungal drugs in development that have been tested in humans. It also addresses novel treatment strategies such as drug combination therapy, pharmacological reformulations to improve the efficacy or reduce the toxicity of current antifungal drugs, immune function augmentation, and vaccine development. All of these strategies, although in their infancy, will enhance the clinician's ability to care for patients with invasive fungal infections.
Neely
M N
MN
Department of Pediatrics, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, University Hospitals of Cleveland, OH 44106, USA. mnn2@po.cwru.edu
Ghannoum
M A
MA
D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005657:Fungal Vaccines; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000379:methods; D009181:Mycoses / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology
D000935:Antifungal Agents; D005657:Fungal Vaccines