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Alteration of the skin and nail for the prevention and treatment of skin and nail infections

Alteration of the skin and nail for the prevention and treatment of skin and nail infections description/claims

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/649,316 filed Feb. 2, 2005, which is incorporated herein by reference. This application is also a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. ______, docket no. C9CMB001.B17, filed Jun. 17, 2005, which is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/215,834, filed Aug. 9, 2002, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/355,088, filed Feb. 11, 2002, each of which application is incorporated herein by reference.

1. Field of Invention

Nail infections are a particularly significant problem in the general population, affecting an estimated 5% to 15% of the overall population. This percentage is significantly higher in the elderly age group and among athletes and other individuals who have high moisture in the area of their feet. It is estimated that approximately 25% of those over 65 suffer from nail infections.

Nail infections are often caused by fungus and this type of infection is termed onychomycosis. Currently, the preferred method for the prevention and treatment of skin and nail infections relies on application of topical medications or ingestion of medications. These medications are used to treat an existing infection, not for the prevention of an infection. Cost of treatment for nail infections by using medication can be between $600 and $1200 per course of treatment and can last three to six months. This is the amount of time it takes the medication to be incorporated into the nails. Another one to six months is then required for the nail to become free of infection. These medications also have a low cure rate with the efficacious having a total cure rate of less than 40%. In addition to the high costs and low cure rates, oral medications for nail infections have serious side effects including heart and liver problems, loss of taste for a year or more, and at times they can cause death.

Topically applied medications are safer than oral medications but have a much lower cure rate. Most topically applied medications for nail infections have cure rates of less than 15%. This is because these medications have difficulty in penetrating the nails effectively. While topically applied medications for skin infections are more efficacious even these medications have drawbacks including side effects such as rashes and other allergic reactions.

No effective method has been developed to prevent or treat skin and nail infections by changing the composition of the skin or nail without the use of oral medications or the application of topical medications.

The invention, a method to prevent and treat skin and nail infections, alters the composition of the skin or nail so that the skin or nail is either changed so that is will no longer sustain an infectious organism or so that it becomes inhibitory or toxic to an infectious organism.

Alteration of the skin or nail may be accomplished by a variety of means such as the use of electromagnetic radiation, application of heat, or other mechanical means. The alteration of the skin or nails may also be accomplished by the application of a compound which may by itself not be an anti-microbial compound (i.e. it may not be an antibiotic) but which when applied serves to inhibit the infectious organism.

The means used to alter the skin or nail may also change the skin or nail so that it is no longer available to the organism as a food source. When the skin or nail is altered in this manner an infectious organism cannot survive since it loses its source of food.

The means used to alter the skin or nail may also change the skin or nail so that it is inhibitory to an organism. This is different than the use of a means to directly inhibit the organism since it is the alteration of the skin or nails which inhibits the organism, not the means itself that inhibits the organism.

The means used to alter the skin or nail may also change the skin or nail so that it is toxic to an organism. This is different than the use of a means which is directly toxic to the organism since it is the alteration of the skin or nails which is toxic the organism, not the means itself that is toxic to the organism.

The means used to alter skin or nail may also change the skin or nail so that its characteristics are changes in a manner that make them more responsive to treatment of skin and nail infections. For example this may mean that the nail becomes more permeable and thus antibiotics may more easily transit the nails to the site of an infection.

One figure showing invention on attached page. Add figures—applying means to make the nail or skin toxic, applying means to make the nail or skin inhibitory, applying means to change the skin or nails so that they are not a food source.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

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