A Promising Strategy for the Treatment of Onychomycosis with Curcumin and Photodynamic Therapy

Onychomycosis is a disease of high incidence in the nail plate and responsible for approximately half of the cases of nail infections. Conventionally, dermatologists prescribe antibiotics and antifungals for long periods for its treatment. The high incidence of this type of infection and the increase of microbial strains resistant to the available drugs have justified the importance of the development of new technologies and treatments. This paper presents the photodynamic therapy as an alternative treatment of onychomycosis. New strategies for the use of curcumin as a photosensitizer and its therapeutic response were investigated in different formulations (gel and emulsion). Photodynamic therapy is a promising technique by which microorganisms are eliminated by a photosensitizing compound , light and oxygen. It was evaluated in two patients who had developed lesions in the fingernails caused by onychomycosis for approximately 10 years. The lesions were treated by photodynamic therapy with curcumin. The therapeutic efficacy was observed after a maximum of six photodynamic therapy sessions without any other adjuvant therapy. Curcumin has become more promising than the therapeutic standard as it is a natural and versatible drug for incorporation in different formulations, at low cost and low probability of side effects.