title: Prophylactic strategies in recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis: a 2-year study testing a phytonutrient vs itraconazole.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to assess the clinical efficacy of a one week/month treatment with a phytocompound with antimycotic properties (K-712, with following 100 mg composition: 10 mg of oleoresin from Pseudowintera colorata at 30 percent concentration in Polygodial together with trace amounts of Olea europea) in recurrent vulvo-vaginal candidiasis (RVVC), as compared to once a week treatment with an azole drug for 24 months follow up. This prospective randomized study involving 122 women (19 to 63 years old) with a history of proven episodes of RVVC in the prior 12 months. Patients were allocated in two treatment groups of 61 patients each and given A) Itraconazole 200 mg orally once a week or B) 1 tab twice a day of K-712 for one week/month. Each treatment schedule was well tolerated with 19 patients in the azole group complaining of transient mild symptoms (nausea, abdominal discomfort, unpleasant taste), while only 3 patients on K-712 reported slight dyspepsia. The number of relapses was significantly lower in the K-712-treated group as compared to the itraconazole-group (22 vs 39, p less than 0.05). Moreover, the former group showed a significantly decreased number of cases resistant or dose-dependent susceptible as compared to group A (p less than 0.05 vs itraconazole) and the same occurred for the occurrence of non-albicans species (group A 64.1 percent vs group B 31.8 percent, p less than 0.05). The overall mycological cure at the end of the 2-year study showed a comparable benefit between the two groups. From these data it appears that the present antifungal phytonutrient is equally effective as itraconazole in the overall treatment of RVVC over a 2-year follow-up, but yielding a significantly better prophylactic effect and also maintenance benefit with lower relapse rate, antifungal susceptibility and growth of azole-resistant species.
authors.affiliation: ReGenera Research Group for Intervention in Aging, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chopra
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marotta
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumari
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Bishier
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zerbinati
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Naito
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tomella
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Solimene
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002181:Candidiasis, Vulvovaginal / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017964:Itraconazole / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D031658:Olea; D064209:Phytochemicals / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D064209:Phytochemicals; D010936:Plant Extracts; C018620:oleoresins; D017964:Itraconazole