SUMMARYConsidered to be an emerging endemic mycosis in Latin America, paracoccidioidomycosis
is characterized by a chronic course and involvement of multiple organs in
immunocompromised hosts. Infection sequelae are mainly related to pulmonary and
adrenal insufficiency. The host-parasite interaction results in different expressions
of the immune response depending on parasite pathogenicity, fungal load and genetic
characteristics of the host. A few controlled and case series reports have shown that
azoles and fast-acting sulfa derivatives are useful treatment alternatives in milder
forms of the disease. For moderate/severe cases, more prolonged treatments or even
parenteral routes are required especially when there is involvement of the digestive
tract mucosa, resulting in poor drug absorption. Although comparative studies have
reported that shorter treatment regimens with itraconazole are able to induce cure in
chronically-infected patients, there are still treatment challenges such as the need
for more controlled studies involving acute cases, the search for new drugs and
combinations, and the search for compounds capable of modulating the immune response
in severe cases as well as the paradoxical reactions.