Fungal Infections Add Burden To Treatment Options

Potential lethality due to Systemic fungal infections allows the researchers to exercise measures for developing the antifungal treatment.

Systemic fungal infections are potentially lethal although they are a lot more uncommon than other illnesses. With limited treatment options, indeed the increasing resistance formed by the fungi to the accessible medications add to the difficulty. Measures to advance the antifungal arsenal is reported by an article in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved only four types of antifungal drugs at present with resistance to these by some infections. There is no evidence on approval of a drug from a new antifungal class in 20 years, with the available ones holding their downsides, including kidney toxicity.

Fungal Infections - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention
Fungal infections are caused by fungi that include yeasts and molds, and occur in those with a weak immunity or following prolonged antibiotic use.

‘Systemic fungal infections are potentially lethal although they are a lot more uncommon than other illnesses. With limited treatment options, indeed the increasing resistance formed by the fungi to the accessible medications add to the difficulty. This permits the researchers to adopt measures for improving the antifungal arsenal.’

This makes surgery the only option for fungal treatment and is estimated to worsen the problem as time goes on.

Fungi are a group of microorganisms such as yeasts and molds with only a few hundred species having the potential to infect humans. They are found almost everywhere and most of the fungal infections can be fought off easily by people's immune systems.

Still the immmunocompromised systems of people (such as, cancer patients on certain chemotherapies) remain at a higher risk for developing fungal infections.

Toenail Fungus - Causes Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Complications
Toenail Fungus or onychomycosis is a common fungal infection of toenails often affecting adults. Toenail fungus occurs following spread of fungal infection from nearby areas especially the toes.

Hurdles of Antifungal Treatment

The biological associations among humans and fungi make it challenging to formulate a new antifungal drug. Since molecules that are harmful to fungi are also harmful to people, exploiting the differences between humans and fungi is passkey to developing new treatments (for example, fungal cells have walls, but human cells do not).

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Improving the established antifungal drugs with added potency and rendering them with fewer side effects are the prevailing therapeutic strategies opted by the pharmaceutical researchers. However, scientists and doctors are hopeful that new antifungals will be approved.

But, considering the number of people that become very sick with fungal infections, the establishment of clinical trials has been proven challenging. The article insists that the COVID-19 pandemic could help transform the way pharmaceutical companies think about therapies for infectious diseases, thereby prioritizing them in the future.

Aspergillosis - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention
Aspergillosis is an infection caused by fungus Aspergillus, usually in people with reduced immunity. Antifungal drugs are used for treatment of Aspergillosis.

Source-Medindia