clioquinol
Regulatory sources consulted
Approved indications
- Relief of anal itching and other conditions involving chronic itching around the anus.
Clinical warnings
- For external use only. Seek advice before use if there is anal or perianal infection, a sexually transmitted disease, or tuberculosis. Stop and seek advice if the condition worsens or does not improve with directed use. Keep out of reach of children; if swallowed, seek medical advice. — DailyMed/openFDA, SPL set ID 134a88a1-13e5-4da0-8270-c380b57aaeb7
Pregnancy and lactation
Seek medical advice before use during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Recent literature (PubMed)
As essential micronutrients, metal ions such as iron, manganese, copper, and zinc, are required for a wide range of physiological processes in the brain. However, an imbalance in metal ions, whether excessive or insufficient, is detrimental and can contribute to neuronal death through oxidative stress, ferroptosis, cuproptosis, cell senescence, or neuroinflammation. These processes have been found to be involved in the pathological mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, the research history and milestone events of studying metal ions, including iron, manganese, copper, and zinc in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington's disease (HD), will be introduced. Then, the upstream regulators, downstream effector, and crosstalk of mental ions under both physiologic and pathologic conditions will be summarized. Finally, the therapeutic effects of metal ion chelators, such as clioquinol, quercetin, curcumin, coumarin, and their derivatives for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases will be discussed. Additionally, the promising results and limitations observed in clinical trials of these metal ion chelators will also be addressed. This review will not only provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of metal ions in disease development but also offer perspectives on their modulation for the prevention or treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Clioquinol and nitroxoline, two drugs with numerous pharmacological properties fallen into disuse for many decades. The first was considered dangerous due to contraindications and the second mainly because was taken as ineffective, despite its known antibacterial activity. In the last decades, the advances in pharmaceutical chemistry, molecular biology, toxicology and genetics allowed to better understand the cellular action of these compounds, some toxicological issues and/or activity scopes. Thus, a new opportunity for these drugs to be considered as potential antimicrobial agents has arisen. This review contemplates the trajectory of clioquinol and nitroxoline from their emergence to the present day, emphasizing the new studies that indicate the possibility of reintroduction for specific cases.
This review focuses on antimicrobials (azithromycin, clarithromycin, clioquinol, chloroquine, doxycycline, erythromycin, ivermectin, and tigecycline), disulfiram, and metformin. It aims to highlight key knowledge gaps and the role of RNA sequencing in the translational repurposing of these agents for cancer therapy. Among the selected repurposed candidates, metformin is distinguished by an abundance of preclinical and clinical studies. Its anticancer activity is partly attributed to the induction of multiple regulated cell death pathways, including apoptosis, pyroptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis, alongside transcriptomic changes identified by bulk RNA sequencing across different cancer types. Clinical translation has thus far yielded mixed results, with drug-drug interactions, subtherapeutic concentrations, resistance mechanisms, and components of the tumour microenvironment representing key challenges to be addressed. In future, transcriptomics-guided drug repurposing, which enables patient stratification, together with the strategic use of repurposed agents informed by predictive biomarkers, may improve clinical outcomes. Bulk RNA sequencing provides a cost-effective means to assess drug-induced global gene expression changes, whilst single-cell and spatial transcriptomics offer finer resolution by capturing cell-type-specific responses and stromal influences, thereby enhancing precision in therapeutic targeting.
Dientamoeba fragilis (D. fragilis) is detected in stool tests of patients with gastrointestinal symptoms. Despite a debate over its pathogenicity, treatment is often prescribed, after excluding other reasons. The most commonly used therapy in practice is metronidazole; however, evidence to support this practice is limited. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis compiling studies evaluating metronidazole vs any other regimen for the treatment of D. fragilis. Studies reporting treatment outcomes (clinical and/or microbiological) of D. fragilis regimens diagnosed by standard stool microscopy and polymerase chain reaction. We searched PubMed, Cochrane library, and Web of Science up to March 2025 for relevant studies. The primary outcome was clinical response; microbiological response was a secondary outcome. We included 12 comparative studies in the quantitative meta-analysis and additional non-comparative studies in the qualitative systematic review. Two studies were randomized controlled trials (RCT), and others were observational studies. Nine studies were included in the analysis of the primary outcome. Significantly higher clinical response rates were demonstrated with paromomycin (odds ratio [OR] 2.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.37-3.89, without heterogeneity) and clioquinol (odds ratio [OR] 2.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26-5.05, without heterogeneity) compared to metronidazole therapy. Significantly higher microbiological response was demonstrated with paromomycin (OR 3.94, 95% CI 2.75-5.65) and a trend for higher response for clioquinol (OR 1.41, 95% CI 0.68-2.92), compared with metronidazole. Limited data compiled in this meta-analysis supports the use of paromomycin or clioquinol for treatment of D. fragilis symptomatic infection, in case a decision to treat this pathogen is taken. Future studies correlating clinical efficacy with microbiological eradication are needed.
The neurodegenerative disorders are age-related illnesses that cause the morphology or activity of neurons to deteriorate over time. Alzheimer's disease is the most frequent neurodegenerative illness in the long run. The rate of advancement might vary, even though it is a progressive neurological illness. Various explanations have been proposed, however the true etiology of Alzheimer's disease remains unclear. Most pharmacological interventions are based on the cholinergic theory, that is earliest idea. In accordance with the amyloid hypothesis, the buildup of beta-amyloid in brain regions is the primitive cause of illness. There is no proof that any one strategy is useful in avoiding Alzheimer's disease, though some epidemiological studies have suggested links within various modifiable variables, such as cardiovascular risk, diet and so on. Different metals like zinc, iron, and copper are naturally present in our bodies. In metal chelation therapy drugs are used to jam the metal ions from combining with other molecules in the body. Clioquinol is one of the metal chelation drugs used by researchers. Research on metal chelation is still ongoing. In the present review, we go over the latest developments in prevalence, incidence, etiology, or pathophysiology of our understanding of Alzheimer's disease. Additionally, a brief discussion on the development of therapeutic chelating agents and their viability as Alzheimer's disease medication candidates is presented. We also assess the effect of clioquinol as a potential metal chelator.