Combination of Photodynamic Therapy and Oral Antifungals for the Treatment of Onychomycosis

Cutaneous Alternariosis in Immunosuppressed Patients Treated with Photodynamic Therapy and Oral Antifungals, a Synergistic Strategy

Cutaneous alternariosis is a rare condition, more frequently presented in immunocompromised patients, which usually requires long courses of systemic antifungals that may interact with other medications. The presented series shows three cases of cutaneous alternariosis in immunocompromised patients and organ transplant recipients that were successfully treated with photodynamic therapy and oral antifungals, allowing a reduction in the systemic treatment duration and therefore decreasing the risk of side effects and drug interactions.

Tinea pedis: an updated review

Background

Tinea pedis is one of the most common superficial fungal infections of the skin, with various clinical manifestations. This review aims to familiarize physicians with the clinical features, diagnosis and management of tinea pedis.

Methods

A search was conducted in April 2023 in PubMed Clinical Queries using the key terms 'tinea pedis' OR 'athlete's foot'. The search strategy included all clinical trials, observational studies and reviews published in English within the past 10 years.

Results

Tinea pedis is most often caused by Trichophyton rubrum and Trichophyton interdigitale. It is estimated that approximately 3% of the world population have tinea pedis. The prevalence is higher in adolescents and adults than in children. The peak age incidence is between 16 and 45 years of age. Tinea pedis is more common amongst males than females. Transmission amongst family members is the most common route, and transmission can also occur through indirect contact with contaminated belongings of the affected patient. Three main clinical forms of tinea pedis are recognized: interdigital, hyperkeratotic (moccasin-type) and vesiculobullous (inflammatory). The accuracy of clinical diagnosis of tinea pedis is low. A KOH wet-mount examination of skin scrapings of the active border of the lesion is recommended as a point-of-care testing. The diagnosis can be confirmed, if necessary, by fungal culture or culture-independent molecular tools of skin scrapings. Superficial or localized tinea pedis usually responds to topical antifungal therapy. Oral antifungal therapy should be reserved for severe disease, failed topical antifungal therapy, concomitant presence of onychomycosis or in immunocompromised patients.

Conclusion

Topical antifungal therapy (once to twice daily for 1-6 weeks) is the mainstay of treatment for superficial or localized tinea pedis. Examples of topical antifungal agents include allylamines (e.g. terbinafine), azoles (e.g. ketoconazole), benzylamine, ciclopirox, tolnaftate and amorolfine. Oral antifungal agents used for the treatment of tinea pedis include terbinafine, itraconazole and fluconazole. Combined therapy with topical and oral antifungals may increase the cure rate. The prognosis is good with appropriate antifungal treatment. Untreated, the lesions may persist and progress.

Onychomycosis: Old and New

Onychomycosis is a common chronic fungal infection of the nail that causes discoloration and/or thickening of the nail plate. Oral agents are generally preferred, except in the case of mild toenail infection limited to the distal nail plate. Terbinafine and itraconazole are the only approved oral therapies, and fluconazole is commonly utilized off-label. Cure rates with these therapies are limited, and resistance to terbinafine is starting to develop worldwide. In this review, we aim to review current oral treatment options for onychomycosis, as well as novel oral drugs that may have promising results in the treatment of onychomycosis.

Treatment of Superficial Mycoses Using Photodynamic Therapy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in treating superficial fungal infections, and provide reference for clinical application. Methods: In accordance with Population, Intervention, Comparator, and Outcome (PICO), the research question and keywords were formulated. Records published in English by PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science as of November 14, 2022 were retrieved, including the keywords "mycoses," "tinea," "photochemotherapy," etc. Besides, meta-analysis performed by STATA and PROSPERO registration code was CRD42022363448. Results: One thousand four hundred eighty-four records were identified and 18 articles involving 343 patients with superficial fungal infections were enrolled. The overall mycological cure rate of PDT is 55% [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.46-0.65]. The fungal cure rate using methylene blue (MB) as photosensitizer (PS) is 67% (95% CI: 0.55-0.79); using 5-aminolevulinic acid is 34% (95% CI: 0.21-0.47); and using methyl aminolevulinate is 56% (95% CI: 0.33-0.78). The fungal cure rate of moderate-to-severe onychomycosis according to Onychomycosis Severity Index is 60% (95% CI: 0.47-0.73) and that of moderate onychomycosis is 66% (95% CI: 0.56-0.76). It was observed that the treatment parameters did not follow the same standard across studies. The majority of the included studies were moderate to low biased. Conclusions: PDT, particularly using MB as PS, has a certain mycological cure rate and safety at treating superficial mycoses. Due to the insufficient number of studies on PDT in the treatment of superficial fungal infections and the small sample size of some studies, more studies with standardized PDT parameters, large sample size, and long follow-up periods are needed to prove that PDT has the potential to become an alternative to traditional antifungal therapy or to find a better combination between them.

Potent Virucidal Activity In Vitro of Photodynamic Therapy with Hypericum Extract as Photosensitizer and White Light against Human Coronavirus HCoV-229E

The emergent human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and its high infectivity rate has highlighted the strong need for new virucidal treatments. In this sense, the use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with white light, to take advantage of the sunlight, is a potent strategy for decreasing the virulence and pathogenicity of the virus. Here, we report the virucidal effect of PDT based on Hypericum extract (HE) in combination with white light, which exhibits an inhibitory activity of the human coronavirus HCoV-229E on hepatocarcinoma Huh-7 cells. Moreover, despite continuous exposure to white light, HE has long durability, being able to maintain the prevention of viral infection. Given its potent in vitro virucidal capacity, we propose HE in combination with white light as a promising candidate to fight against SARS-CoV-2 as a virucidal compound.