INTRODUCTION CD4+CD25+ T lymphocytes have been implicated in the regulation of host inflammatory response against Trypanosoma cruzi, and may be involved in the clinical course of the disease. METHODS Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with chronic Chagas disease were cultured in the presence of T. cruzi recombinant antigens and assayed for lymphocytes at distinct time points. ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) genes and their human leucocyte antigen (HLA) ligands in the susceptibility of chronic Chagas disease. This case-control study enrolled 131 serologically-diagnosed Chagas disease patients (59 men and 72 women, mean age of 60.4 ± 9.8 years) treated at the University Hospital of Londrina and t...

BACKGROUND Chagas disease, caused by the flagellate parasite Trypanosoma cruzi affects 8-10 million people in Latin America. The mechanisms that underlie the development of complications of chronic Chagas disease, characterized primarily by pathology of the heart and digestive system, are not currently understood. To identify possible host genetic factors that may influence the clinical course ...

BACKGROUND Changes in the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene may contribute to the increase in blood pressure and consequently to the onset of heart failure (HF). The role of polymorphism is very controversial, and its identification in patients with HF secondary to Chagas disease in the Brazilian population is required. OBJECTIVE To determine ACE polymorphism in patients with HF second...

We report a patient with Chagas' disease that presented Trypanosoma cruzi reactivation after cardiac transplantation and immunodepression, characterized by skin lesions of erythema nodosum. This is an unusual presentation of Chagas' disease.