Antifungal drug resistance of yeasts in dermatology: mechanisms, epidemiology and clinical impact

Superficial dermatophytoses are among the most common infectious disease. The most commonly used antifungal categories reazoles, polyenes and echinocandins. Due to the limited number of available antifungal drugs, toxicity and the emergence of resistant (intrinsic or acquired) strains, antifungal strategy needs to be developed. Recently the researchers try to find alternative antifungal agents. This review emphasizes the action and resistance mechanisms to antifungal drugs, the search for new agents, drug- resistant genes, and the application of combination therapy and immunomodulators (using cytokines and gamma interferon which can provide novel insights to fighting fungal infections). A comprehensive review study was performed using the keywords including Candida, antifungal drugs and drug resistance in valid medical databases, mainly PubMed. Articles that were most relevant to the purposes of the study were selected and studied. Problems with antifungal resistance and the emergence of resistant strains of fungal has produced an enormous demand for new antifungal agents. The clinical complexity of patients with resistant mycoses prevents an easy approach to the detection, prevention, and management of antifungal drug resistance. Continuing investigation will illustrate the role of susceptibility testing for resistant mycoses and on clinical strategies used to fighting antifungal drug resistance in pathogenic fungi.