Amorolfine (or amorolfin), is a

morpholine Morpholine is an organic chemical compound having the chemical formula O( C H2CH2)2 NH. This heterocycle features both amine and ether functional groups. Because of the amine, morpholine is a base; its conjugate acid is called morpholinium. Fo ...

antifungal drug An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as cryp ...

that inhibits Δ¹⁴-sterol reductase and cholestenol Δ-isomerase, which depletes

ergosterol Ergosterol (ergosta-5,7,22-trien-3β-ol) is a sterol found in cell membranes of fungi and protozoa, serving many of the same functions that cholesterol serves in animal cells. Because many fungi and protozoa cannot survive without ergosterol, the ...

and causes ignosterol to accumulate in the fungal

cytoplasmic In cell biology, the cytoplasm is all of the material within a eukaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, except for the cell nucleus. The material inside the nucleus and contained within the nuclear membrane is termed the nucleoplasm. Th ...

cell membranes The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment ( ...

. Marketed as Curanail, Loceryl, Locetar, and Odenil, amorolfine is commonly available in the form of a nail lacquer, containing 5% amorolfine hydrochloride as the active ingredient. It is used to treat

onychomycosis Onychomycosis, also known as tinea unguium, is a fungal infection of the nail. Symptoms may include white or yellow nail discoloration, thickening of the nail, and separation of the nail from the nail bed. Toenails or fingernails may be affected ...

(fungal infection of the toe- and fingernails). Amorolfine 5% nail lacquer in once-weekly or twice-weekly applications was shown in two decades-old studies to be between 60% and 71% effective in treating toenail onychomycosis; complete cure rates three months after stopping treatment (after six months of treatment) were 38% and 46%. However, full experimental details of these trials were not available, and since they were first reported in 1992 there have been no subsequent trials. It is a ''

topical A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large range of classes ...

'' solution for the treatment of toenail infections.

Systemic Systemic fundamental to a predominant social, economic, or political practice. This refers to: In medicine In medicine, ''systemic'' means affecting the whole body, or at least multiple organ systems. It is in contrast with ''topical'' or ''loc ...

treatments may be considered more effective. It is approved for sale

over-the-counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid prescr ...

in Australia, Brazil, Russia, Germany, and the UK, and is approved for the treatment of toenail fungus by prescription in other countries. It is not approved for the treatment of onychomycosis in the United States or Canada. However, it can be ordered from there by mail from other countries.It can readily be verified that Curanail is advertised on websites such as US

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

, shipped from abroad.

Notes

{{antifungals Antifungals Morpholines

See also

Notes