Chagas disease and immunosuppression

Chagas disease and immunosuppression.

Immunosuppression and Chagas Disease: A Management Challenge

Immunosuppression, which has become an increasingly relevant clinical condition in the last 50 years, modifies the natural history of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in most patients with Chagas disease. The main goal in this setting is to prevent the consequences of reactivation of T. cruzi infection by close monitoring. We analyze the relationship between Chagas disease and three immunosuppressan...

Effects of cannabinoid treatment on Chagas disease pathogenesis: balancing inhibition of parasite invasion and immunosuppression.

Trypanosoma cruzi invades heart cells via a calcium-dependent, G protein-mediated mechanism, leading to severe cardiac inflammation considered by some to be autoimmune in nature. Cannabinoids inhibit calcium flux and G protein signalling; as potent immunosuppressive agents, they are effective in the treatment of autoimmune disease but contraindicated for the treatment of infections. We compared...

Chagas disease and HIV co-infection: genetic analyses of two Trypanosoma cruzi strains under experimental immunosuppression

BACKGROUND: Recently new aspects of the immunopathology of Chagas disease have been described in patients infected with HIV and unusual clinical manifestations such as cutaneous lesions, involvement of central nervous system and/or serious cardiac lesions related to the reactivation of the parasite have been reported. Two uncloned Trypanosoma cruzi strains previously isolated from chronic chaga...

Globalization and Chagas Disease

Globalization and Chagas Disease reflect several historic and social situations in Latin America (LA), with important influences and repercussions in the general society and between themselves. Originally, the disease was restricted to LA, with a socio-political context strongly marked by poverty, migration and the progressive enfeeblement of the State. (CNBB 2003, Macedo 1997, Schmunis 1997, S...