Antibiotics could be key in dandruff treatment

Washington - A report in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry may offer researchers a new avenue to treating one of the leading causes of dandruff, the unsightly shedding of excess skin cells off the scalp.

Researchers studied the fungus Malassezia globosa, which causes irritation on the scalp, leading to dandruff. According to Medical News Today, researchers identified an essential enzyme in the fungus, which could become the target for new anti-dandruff medications. The report also shows that sulfonamides, antibacterial agents, were more effective at neutralizing the fungus than ketoconazole, a widely used antifungal medicine found in many dandruff treatments.

The study’s authors believe that targeting the isolated enzyme with antibiotics along with antifungals may help lead to a new wave of effective treatments for the condition, which affects as much as half of the world’s population.

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