Modulation of linear nail growth to treat diseases of the nail.
Diseases affecting the nail can cause significant distress and interfere with an individual's self-esteem, personal relationships, and professional life. Often, hand and foot function is adversely affected. Certain diseases are characterized by accelerated nail growth while others show a decrease. In this review, drugs known to influence the growth rate of nails are examined, highlighting their potential use as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of nail disease. This approach, described recently in the context of the yellow nail syndrome,(1) may be extended to other common disorders such as nail psoriasis, brittle nails, and onychomycosis.
Geyer
Adam S
AS
Department of Dermatology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York 10022-2441, USA.
Onumah
Neh
N
Uyttendaele
Hendrik
H
Scher
Richard K
RK
D006801:Humans; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000502:physiology; D007700:Kinetics; D009260:Nail Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009262:Nails / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000473:pathology