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...

OBJECTIVE This study was designed to explore the presence of a prothrombotic state in the early stages of chronic Chagas' disease by evaluating serum markers of thrombosis and fibrinolysis. PATIENTS AND METHOD Forty-two patients with chronic Chagas' disease (12 men and 30 women, 32.5 6.7 years) were compared with 21 healthy volunteers (10 men and 11 women, 24.2 5.6 years). The markers of thro...

Sudden death is one of the most characteristic phenomena of Chagas disease, and approximately one-third of infected patients develop life-threatening heart disease, including malignant ventricular arrhythmias. Fibrotic lesions secondary to chronic cardiomyopathy produce arrhythmogenic substrates that lead to the appearance and maintenance of ventricular arrhythmias. The objective of this study ...

BACKGROUND Peculiar aspects of Chagas cardiomyopathy raise concerns about efficacy and safety of sympathetic blockade. We studied the influence of beta-blockers in patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined REMADHE trial and grouped patients according to etiology (Chagas versus non-Chagas) and beta-blocker therapy. Primary end point was all-cause mortality or heart t...

BACKGROUND Chagas heart disease is a frequent cause of morbidity and mortality in Latin America. Echocardiography provides useful diagnostic and prognostic information and is an important tool in the management of patients with Chagas disease. METHODS AND RESULTS A search for relevant publications was obtained from MEDLINE, LILACS, and SCIELO sources. Acute Chagas myocarditis is a rare disord...

BACKGROUND Chagas disease remains a significant public health issue and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Latin America. Despite nearly 1 century of research, the pathogenesis of chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy is incompletely understood, the most intriguing challenge of which is the complex host-parasite interaction. METHODS AND RESULTS A systematic review of the literature found in ...

INTRODUCTION American trypanosomiasis, or Chagas' disease, is one of the most frequent causes of congestive heart failure and sudden death in the world (1-4). Its pathogenesis is still a matter of debate, even though the disease was described by the Brazilian Carlos Chagas in 1909 (5,6). In 1913 this brilliant scientist already saw "a new frontier of nervous system pathology" (7), yet today the...