Topical statins as antifungals: a review
Open accessAbstract
Cutaneous fungal infections affect millions around the world. However, severe, multi‐resistant fungal infections are increasingly being reported over the past years. As a result of the high rate of resistance which urged for drug repurposing, statins were studied and found to have multiple pleiotropic effects, especially when combined with other already‐existing drugs. An example of this is the synergism found between several typical antifungals and statins, such as antifungals Imidazole and Triazole with a wide range of statins shown in this review. The main mechanisms in which they exert an antifungal effect are ergosterol inhibition, protein prenylation, mitochondrial disruption, and morphogenesis/mating inhibition. This article discusses multiple in vitro studies that have proven the antifungal effect of systemic statins against many fungal species, whether used alone or in combination with other typical antifungals. However, as a result of the high rate of drug–drug interactions and the well‐known side effects of systemic statins, topical statins have become of increasing interest. Furthermore, patients with dyslipidemia treated with systemic statins who have a new topical fungal infection could benefit from the antifungal effect of their statin. However, it is still not indicated to initiate systemic statins in patients with topical mycotic infections if they do not have another indication for statin use, which raises the interest in using topical statins for fungal infections. This article also tackles the different formulations that have been studied to enhance topical statins' efficacy, as well as the effect of different topical statins on distinct dermatologic fungal diseases.
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- T 2 T 3 F 4 T 5 F 6 T 7 F 8 F 9 T 10 F ª 2024 the International Society of Dermatology. International Journal of Dermatology 2024, 63, 747-753
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e Silva, D. M., de Souza Lacerda, L., de Souza Andrioli, A., Braz, W. R., Campos, L. M., de Paiva, M. R. B., Pittella, F., Fabri, R. L., & Tavares, G. D. (2025) · Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology · doi:10.1111/fcp.70046 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
- Authors
- Khoury, D. M., Ghaoui, N., El Tayar, E., Dagher, R., El Hawa, M., Rubeiz, N., Abbas, O., & Kurban, M.
- Affiliations
- American University of Beirut Medical Center (LB)
- American University of Beirut Beirut Lebanon
- American University of Beirut (LB)
- Department of Dermatology American University of Beirut Medical Center Beirut Lebanon
- Corresponding author
- Kurban, Mazen
- Venue
- International Journal of Dermatology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2024-02-12
- Volume
- 63
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 747-753
- ISSN
- 0011-9059 (ISSN-L)
- 1365-4632
- OpenAlex
- W4391747506
- Cited by
- 3
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3
- FWCI
- 0.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Dermatology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › Antifungal resistance and susceptibility
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Nail Diseases and Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Fungal Infections and Studies
- Keywords
- antifungal activity, fungal skin infection, drug repurposing, imidazole antifungals, triazole antifungals, protein prenylation, mitochondrial disruption, drug-drug interactions, statin adverse effects, dyslipidemia, topical formulation
- MeSH terms
- Administration, Cutaneous, Antifungal Agents, Dermatomycoses, Drug Interactions, Humans, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors, Drug Repositioning
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