Onychomycosis (a review)

Onychomycosis (a review)

Е.V. Lipova¹, A.A. Sokol’skaya¹, Yu.G. Vitvitskaya¹, I.I. Glazko^1, A.S. Chekmarev¹, T.A. Silyutina¹, N.V. Frigo² 

¹A.I. Burnazyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center of the Federal Medical Biological Agency of Russia, Moscow

²Moscow Center for Dermatovenerology and Cosmetology, Moscow Onychomycosis is one of the most common nail diseases. The most important risk factor for dermatomycosis is cellular immune disorders.

Treatment for onychomycosis is difficult because the similarity of fungal cells and their enzymes with human ones provokes side effects. Most systemic antifungals have a hepatotoxic effect, which limits their use in elderly patients and patients with somatic comorbidities, immunodeficiencies, etc. Topical antifungals provoke minimal side effects but have low efficacy due to poor penetration of drugs into the nail plate. The result is an increase in the recurrence rate of infection in a quarter of patients.

To date, increasing evidence demonstrates that fungi form biofilms in nail plates that contribute to chronic fungal infection. Many studies compare the efficacy of topical antifungal therapy, physiotherapy (laser and photodynamic therapy), and a combination of these methods. Combined treatment is highly effective for dermatomycosis and is widely applied by venereologists. However, the development of novel highly effective antifungal drugs and new treatments for onychomycosis is still relevant.

Keywords: onychomycosis, etiology, pathogenesis, biofilms, treatment, laser treatment for onychomycosis.

For citation: Lipova Е.V., Sokol’skaya A.A., Vitvitskaya Yu.G., Glazko I.I., Chekmarev A.S., Silyutina T.A., Frigo N.V. Onychomycosis (a review). RMJ. 2023;6:21–24.