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Griseofulvin (also known as Grisovin) is an antifungal drug
Antifungal drug

An antifungal drug is medication used to treat fungi infections such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis , serious systemic infections such as cryptococcus meningitis, and others....
. It is used both in animals and in humans, to treat ringworm
Ringworm

Ringworm is a fungal infection of the skin in humans and domestic animals such as sheep and cattle. Fungi are organisms that survive by eating plant or animal material....
 infections of the skin and nails. It is derived from the mold Penicillium
Penicillium

Penicillium is a genus of ascomyceteous fungi that includes:*Penicillium bilaiae, which is an agricultural inoculant.*Penicillium camemberti, which is used in the production of Camembert and Brie cheese cheeses....
 griseofulvum.

It is administered orally.

drug binds to tubulin
Tubulin

Tubulin is one of several members of a small family of globular proteins. The most common members of the tubulin family are a-tubulin and ?-tubulin, the proteins that make up microtubules....
, interfering with microtubule
Microtubule

Microtubules are one of the components of the cytoskeleton. They have a diameter of 25 Nanometre and length varying from 200 nanometers to 25 micrometers....
 function, thus inhibiting mitosis
Mitosis

Mitosis is the process in which a eukaryotic cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, into two identical sets in two daughter nuclei....
.

It binds to keratin
Keratin

Keratins are a family of fibrous protein; tough and insoluble, they form the hard but mineral structures found in reptiles, birds, amphibians and mammals....
 in keratin precursor cells and makes them resistant to fungal infections.






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Encyclopedia


Griseofulvin (also known as Grisovin) is an antifungal drug
Antifungal drug

An antifungal drug is medication used to treat fungi infections such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis , serious systemic infections such as cryptococcus meningitis, and others....
. It is used both in animals and in humans, to treat ringworm
Ringworm

Ringworm is a fungal infection of the skin in humans and domestic animals such as sheep and cattle. Fungi are organisms that survive by eating plant or animal material....
 infections of the skin and nails. It is derived from the mold Penicillium
Penicillium

Penicillium is a genus of ascomyceteous fungi that includes:*Penicillium bilaiae, which is an agricultural inoculant.*Penicillium camemberti, which is used in the production of Camembert and Brie cheese cheeses....
 griseofulvum.

It is administered orally.

Mechanism

The drug binds to tubulin
Tubulin

Tubulin is one of several members of a small family of globular proteins. The most common members of the tubulin family are a-tubulin and ?-tubulin, the proteins that make up microtubules....
, interfering with microtubule
Microtubule

Microtubules are one of the components of the cytoskeleton. They have a diameter of 25 Nanometre and length varying from 200 nanometers to 25 micrometers....
 function, thus inhibiting mitosis
Mitosis

Mitosis is the process in which a eukaryotic cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, into two identical sets in two daughter nuclei....
.

It binds to keratin
Keratin

Keratins are a family of fibrous protein; tough and insoluble, they form the hard but mineral structures found in reptiles, birds, amphibians and mammals....
 in keratin precursor cells and makes them resistant to fungal infections. It is only when hair or skin is replaced by the keratin-griseofulvin complex that the drug reaches its site of action. Griseofulvin will then enter the dermatophyte
Dermatophyte

A dermatophyte is a parasitic fungus that infects the skin. The term embraces the imperfect fungi of the genera Epidermophyton, Microsporum and Trichophyton....
 through energy dependent transport processes and bind to fungal microtubule
Microtubule

Microtubules are one of the components of the cytoskeleton. They have a diameter of 25 Nanometre and length varying from 200 nanometers to 25 micrometers....
s. This alters the processing for mitosis and also underlying information for deposition of fungal cell walls.

Potential for cancer treatment

When cancer cells divide (undergo mitosis
Mitosis

Mitosis is the process in which a eukaryotic cell separates the chromosomes in its cell nucleus, into two identical sets in two daughter nuclei....
), they use an unusual mechanism to ensure the correct genetic material is present within each of the resulting tumor cells. Laboratory experiments at the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) show that griseofulvin causes cancer cells to fail to divide the chromosomes correctly, which eventually leads to tumor cell death. Griseofulvin does not interfere with cell division in healthy cells. The observed effect is not strong, but is significant. Griseofulvin may be combined with other treatments to improve its effectiveness and may lead to the development of more effective future drug treatments with very low toxic side effects.

Side effects

Known side effects
Adverse drug reaction

An adverse drug reaction or adverse drug event is an expression that describes the unwanted, negative consequences associated with the use of given medications....
 of griseofulvin include:
  • Hives
  • Skin rashes
  • Confusion
  • Dizziness
  • Diarrhea
  • Fatigue
  • Headache
  • Impairment of performance of routine activities
  • Inability to fall or stay asleep
  • Nausea
  • Oral thrush (yeast infection of the mouth)
  • Upper abdominal pain
  • Vomiting
  • Swelling
  • Itching
  • Tingling in the hands or feet
  • Loss of taste sensation
  • Sensitivity to prolonged sun exposure
  • Sensitivity to alcohol, with a disulfiram
    Disulfiram

    Disulfiram is a medication used to support the treatment of chronic alcoholism by producing an acute sensitivity to ethanol. Trade names for disulfiram in different countries are Antabuse and Antabus manufactured by Odyssey Pharmaceuticals....
    -like reaction
  • Possibly a teratogen inducing mutations
  • Can reduce the effectiveness of oral contraceptives


Common brand names

  • Grifulvin V
  • Gris-PEG
  • S-Fulvin


External links