Long ago proved that the body of an adult live up to 100 trillion bacteria, viruses and fungi all. And not all of them "work" on us. Many of this community pathogens, although they may not show their dangerous nature of a long time. Harmful microorganisms are activated, usually under reduced immunity (as the same herpes).
Similarly, the act and fungal infections. And there are fungi that can cause life-threatening invasive infections annually carry up to half a million people worldwide.
Today, scientists are closely involved in the development of fundamentally new antifungal agents as those used now, are heavy (sometimes too) side effects. And existing drugs lose their own functionality due to the stability of fungi to their constituents.
About mushrooms
It is known that mushrooms are one of the most mysterious and unusual inhabitants of the planet Earth. For many years they were considered plants due to external similarity, but in the second half of the last century, mushrooms have been allocated in the independent kingdom - Mycota. It turned out that they are on the plant and animal worlds borders.
With plants in common mushrooms apical growth and the presence of cell wall, and with animals - the need for ready vitamins, and organic substances. The fungal cells synthesize glycogen - "animal sugar" but still chitin and urea (like crustaceans and other invertebrates). Some mushrooms while eating "dead" organic and the other for the "food" is needed organic matter from living things (oh, horror). The second mushroom "caste" is divided into:
- symbionts;
- and vermin.
Mushrooms parasites
Of the great number of species of fungi are only a few dozen infect humans, causing serious illness. And now the number of such cases is increasing inexorably. This is due to the increasing number of individuals with a depressed immune system, since modern medicine, the treatment of many diseases associated with immunosuppression.
For example, in cancer treatment used "all kill" chemotherapy. Immunity is suppressed and the organ transplantation, the blood, bone marrow, but also in the process of complex surgical operations. Immunodeficiency states can occur in the therapy of autoimmune diseases. And all this, not to mention the people infected with HIV - the human immunodeficiency virus.
How to treat?
Today, for example, to treat patients infected with Lomentospora prolificans (rare mold) resistant to all available antifungal drugs, doctors use a combination of two or three drugs in huge doses. And even that is often left without a positive result. Most of the patients still die.
However, the situation, as the scientists say, can change for the better, as currently designed fundamentally new drugs against intractable fungal infections that have completely different mechanisms actions.
For the treatment of diseases provoked by fungi used pharmacological agents 4 classes:
- polyenes and azoles acting on fungal cell membrane;
- echinocandins inhibiting the enzyme required for cell wall synthesis;
- flucytosine, violates the synthesis of nucleic acids.
All of these drugs have serious drawbacks: they are toxic, not the best way to interact with other drugs that are administered only intravenously (except azoles).
But, fortunately, quite a few other antifungal drugs is now in the final stages of clinical trials and will soon be approved for use. They are much safer than their predecessors, and almost all of them can be taken orally.
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