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Is there a role for statins in fungal infections?

Peter W Bergman1, Linda Björkhem-Bergman

  • 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Division of Clinical Microbiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet, 141 86, Stockholm, Sweden.

Expert Review of Anti-Infective Therapy
|November 13, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Statins show antifungal and anti-inflammatory effects in lab studies, but clinical evidence for treating fungal infections is limited. More randomized trials are needed to confirm their therapeutic potential.

Area of Science:

  • Mycology
  • Pharmacology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Statins, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, are widely used for cholesterol management.
  • Emerging research suggests potential antifungal applications for statins.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the antifungal properties of statins.
  • To examine statins' effects on host inflammatory responses.
  • To assess the available clinical evidence for statins in fungal infections.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of in vitro studies on statins' antifungal activity.
  • Analysis of studies investigating statins' impact on host inflammatory cells.
  • Evaluation of existing clinical trial data, including retrospective and observational studies.

Main Results:

  • Statins demonstrate in vitro antifungal properties, though often at supraphysiological concentrations.
  • Statins exhibit anti-inflammatory effects on host cells in vitro.
  • Statins influence fungal physiology beyond direct growth inhibition.
  • Clinical evidence is limited, with only five retrospective/observational studies available, carrying a high risk of bias.

Conclusions:

  • Current evidence suggests statins possess antifungal and anti-inflammatory potential.
  • The clinical utility of statins for fungal infections remains unproven due to scarce and biased data.
  • Randomized controlled trials are essential to validate the efficacy of statins in treating fungal infections.

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