Griseofulvin
| Evidence Level: L4 | Predicted Indications: 5 |
Table of Contents
Griseofulvin: From Fungal Infections to Myiasis
One-Sentence Summary
Griseofulvin is an oral antifungal used for dermatophyte (ringworm-type) infections of the skin, hair and nails, acting by disrupting the mitotic spindle microtubules of fungal cells. The TxGNN model predicts a possible link to myiasis (fly larva infestation of tissue), but this is currently supported by no clinical trials and only 1 tangentially related publication (a 1970 veterinary review). There is no established pharmacological mechanism connecting an antifungal drug to a parasitic insect infestation, so this prediction should be treated as exploratory only.
Quick Overview
| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Original Indication | Not formally recorded in this evidence pack (no licence data); drug class description indicates use as an oral antifungal for dermatophyte infections |
| Predicted New Indication | Myiasis |
| TxGNN Prediction Score | 99.41% |
| Evidence Level | L4 |
| UK Market Status | Not Marketed |
| Number of Marketing Authorisations | 0 |
| Recommended Decision | Hold |
Why is This Prediction Reasonable?
Griseofulvin’s mechanism of action is not formally documented in this evidence pack (flagged as a data gap), but the model’s own rationale text describes it as an oral antifungal that interferes with fungal mitotic spindle microtubule function — the well-known mechanism by which griseofulvin inhibits dermatophyte fungal growth. This mechanism has no established biological connection to myiasis, which is caused by dipteran (fly) larvae infesting living tissue, not by fungi.
The repurposing rationale supplied with this prediction is explicit that the link is speculative: it notes only an unproven hypothesis that griseofulvin, which accumulates in keratin, might have some larvicidal or repellent effect once deposited in skin/hair keratin — but this has no pharmacological mechanism support and is described in the evidence pack itself as “an indirect inference” rather than an established pathway. The model also ranked four closely related conditions (wound myiasis, creeping myiasis, furuncular myiasis) and echinococcosis at similarly high scores with essentially the same caveat, which is more consistent with the model detecting a loose semantic/knowledge-graph association than a genuine pharmacological signal.
Given this, the prediction should be read as a hypothesis-generating signal only, not as evidence of therapeutic plausibility.
Clinical Trial Evidence
Currently no related clinical trials registered.
Literature Evidence
| PMID | Year | Type | Journal | Key Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4098614 | 1970 | Review | The Veterinary record | Veterinary review of parasitic skin diseases in dogs and cats; no abstract available in this evidence pack, and relevance to griseofulvin use in human myiasis has not been assessed (marked “pending”) |
UK Market Information
No marketing authorisation data is available in this evidence pack — Griseofulvin is recorded as Not Marketed, with 0 licences on file. No product, dosage form or approved indication text could be extracted.
Safety Considerations
Please refer to the SmPC and BNF for safety information. Report suspected adverse reactions via the Yellow Card Scheme.
Note: this evidence pack flags a Blocking data gap on missing warnings/contraindications data, which by itself prevents progression to a formal safety evaluation (S1) for this candidate.
Conclusion and Next Steps
Decision: Hold
Rationale: There is no plausible mechanistic link between griseofulvin’s antifungal action and myiasis, no clinical trial evidence, and only a single, non-specific veterinary review as literature support. A blocking data gap on safety/label warnings also prevents this candidate from progressing past initial screening (decision stage S0).
To proceed, the following is needed:
- Griseofulvin MHRA/SmPC warnings, contraindications and DDI data (currently a Blocking gap)
- Confirmed mechanism of action data from DrugBank (currently a High-severity gap)
- Targeted literature search specifically on griseofulvin and myiasis/keratin-larvicidal effects in humans, rather than relying on an unrelated veterinary review
- Any preclinical (in vitro/in vivo) data testing griseofulvin’s activity against dipteran larvae, to establish whether the keratin-accumulation hypothesis has any real pharmacological basis before further evaluation
Disclaimer
This content is for research purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Clinical validation is required before any clinical application.