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Recent innovations and challenges in the treatment of fungal infections

Summary

Fungal infections are becoming more common and harder to treat due to drug resistance, especially in people with weakened immune systems. Current antifungal medications are becoming less effective because fungi are adapting to resist them, and these drugs can cause serious side effects. Scientists are developing new treatment strategies using combinations of existing drugs, engineered biological approaches, and specially designed delivery systems to overcome resistance and improve patient outcomes.

Background

Fungal infections are increasingly prevalent, particularly among immunocompromised individuals, with WHO designating fungi like Candida auris as global health threats. Traditional antifungal agents (azoles, polyenes, echinocandins) face limitations due to emerging drug resistance, poor selectivity, and high toxicity. Current research is shifting toward multi-mechanistic combination therapies and biotechnology-driven approaches to address these challenges.

Objective

This review summarizes recent advances in antifungal treatment strategies and outlines directions for future drug development. It examines emerging therapeutic targets, combination therapy approaches, and biotechnology-driven innovations to combat increasing antifungal resistance.

Results

The review identifies multiple promising approaches: emerging targets validated through structural studies, synergistic combinations overcoming resistance (AmB with flucytosine achieving 37% effectiveness), biofilm-disrupting strategies, CRISPR-Cas9 facilitating target discovery, and nanotechnology enhancing drug delivery (lipid nanocapsules improving cerebrospinal fluid penetration 8-fold).

Conclusion

Integrated multidisciplinary approaches combining target-driven drug development, combination therapies, and biotechnology innovations offer significant potential for addressing antifungal resistance. Sustained investment in novel target identification, optimization of drug formulations, and clinical validation of emerging strategies is essential to improve treatment outcomes for fungal infections.
  • Published in:Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology,
  • Study Type:Review,
  • Source: PMID: 41104137, DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1676009
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