Combating Fungal Infections Problems and Remedy
The currently available means of combating fungal infections are still weak and clumsy. The application of fungal genomics offers an unparalleled opportunity to develop novel antifungal drugs. Interestingly, several novel antifungal drug targets have alre
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Iqbal Ahmad Mohammad Owais Mohammed Shahid Farrukh Aqil l
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Editors
Combating Fungal Infections Problems and Remedy
Editors Dr. Iqbal Ahmad Aligarh Muslim University Fac. Agricultural Sciences Dept. Agricultural Microbiology 202002 Aligarh India [email protected]
Dr. Mohammad Owais Aligarh Muslim University Interdiciplinary Biotechnology Unit 202002 Aligarh India [email protected]
Dr. Mohammed Shahid Aligarh Muslim University J. N. Medical College Dept. Microbiology 202002 Aligarh India [email protected]
Dr. Farrukh Aqil James Graham Brown Cancer Center Delia Baxter Research Bldg. S. Preston Street 580 Louisville, KY 40202 USA [email protected]
ISBN 978-3-642-12172-2 e-ISBN 978-3-642-12173-9 DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-12173-9 Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2010923617 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: WMXDesign GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
Preface
Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms that are closely related to humans at cellular level. Human fungal pathogens belong to various classes of fungi, mainly zygomycetes, ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, and deuteromycetes. In recent years, fungal infections have dramatically increased as a result of improved diagnosis, high frequency of catheterization, instrumentation, etc. However, the main cause remains the increasing number of immunosuppressed patients, mostly because of HIV infection and indiscriminate usage of antineoplastic and immunosuppressive agents, broad-spectrum antibiotics and prosthetic devices, and grafts in clinical settings. Presently available means of combating fungal infections are still weak and clumsy compared to control of bacterial infection. The present scenario of antifungal therapy is still based on two classes of antifungal drugs (polyenes and azoles).These drugs are effective in many cases, but display toxicity and limited spectrum of efficacy. The recent trend towards emergence of drug-resistant isolates in the clinic is an additional problem. In recent years, a few new antifungal drugs have entered the clinics, but
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