Editorial
Copyright ©2011 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Infect Dis. Dec 30, 2011; 1(1): 4-10
Published online Dec 30, 2011. doi: 10.5495/wjcid.v1.i1.4
Statins as antifungal agents
László Galgóczy, Ildikó Nyilasi, Tamás Papp, Csaba Vágvölgyi
László Galgóczy, Ildikó Nyilasi, Tamás Papp, Csaba Vágvölgyi, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Hungary
Author contributions: Galgóczy L, Nyilasi I, Papp T and Vágvölgyi C contributed equally to this paper.
Supported by PannonPharma (Pécsvárad, Hungary); and the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA), No. PD 83355 (to Galgóczy L)
Correspondence to: László Galgóczy, PhD, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, H-6726 Szeged, Közép fasor 52, Hungary. galgoczi@gmail.com
Telephone: +36-62-544005 Fax: +36-62-544823
Received: July 12, 2011
Revised: October 17, 2011
Accepted: December 23, 2011
Published online: December 30, 2011
Abstract

Fungal infections are increasing and their treatment is difficult, because the most widely used antifungal drugs are relatively toxic and have serious side effects. Therefore, interest has focused on safely applicable and clinically introduced non-antifungal drugs, which have potent antifungal activity. Statins were originally used as cholesterol lowering agents in human therapy, but recent studies demonstrated their in vitro antifungal activity against yeasts and filamentous fungi. This indicated their potential application, alone or in combination with other drugs, in the treatment of such diseases. Their effective concentrations are higher than their maximum achievable serum levels; therefore, the application of statins for the treatment of invasive fungal infections is only possible in combination with antifungal agents. These synergistic combinations establish a basis for a new safely applicable therapy. This review focuses on the antifungal activity of statins alone and in combination with antifungal and non-antifungal drugs, and their possible application in clinical therapy.

Keywords: Statins; Antifungal activity; Drug interaction