Medical mycology and current trends in antifungal chemotherapy.

The Medical Mycological Society of the Americas (MMSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) are both premier scientific organizations which held their annual conferences in Atlanta, Georgia, May 17-21, 1998. The MMSA scientific session focused on the role of animal models in drug development and on the immunology and molecular biology of the medically important fungi. The use of current molecular tools in identifying new fungal targets for the development of antifungal agents and for the study of fungal epidemiology was reviewed. At the ASM, several sessions were held which focused on the pathogenesis of fungal disease, the in vitro susceptibility testing of new (voriconazole, SCH-56592, LY-303366, metalloporphyrins) and established antifungal agents, the experimental in vivo activity of new antifungal drugs in various animal models of fungal disease and pediatric mycology; the clinical activity of fluconazole, itraconazole, liposomal nystatin and liposomal amphotericin B formulations was also reviewed.