Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Case reportPhotodynamic therapy of onychomycosis caused by Trichophyton rubrum
Section snippets
Case report
A 78-year-old woman presented with total onychomycosis of the right big toenail and proximal subungual onychomycosis of the left big toenail caused by Trichophyton rubrum (Fig 1). The patient had failed to respond to treatment with topical antifungals (potassium hydroxide [KOH] and cultures were positive after 18 months of use of amorolfine 5% nail lacquer) and had conditions that contraindicated administration of systemic antifungals (she was affected by hypertension and chronic hepatitis C
Discussion
The use of PDT has been recently extended from the oncologic field to that of antimicrobial chemotherapy.1, 2
In vitro studies have demonstrated that fungi can be effectively photosensitized after topical delivery of 5-aminolevulinic acid and killed at dose rates much lower than those that kill keratinocytes.3 Available information indicate that T rubrum, which is responsible for 90% of onychomycosis, is a possible target of PDT, as almost 50% of the fungal growth could be inhibited in vitro.4
References (5)
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Bioadhesive patch-based delivery of 5-aminolevulinic acid to the nail for photodynamic therapy of onychomycosis
J Control Release
(2005) - et al.
A comprehensive overview of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of superficial fungal infections of the skin
J Photochem Photobiol B
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Cited by (0)
Supported by Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica (MURST) University of Bologna.
Conflicts of interest: None declared.