Chagas cardiomyopathy is the most frequent and most severe manifestation of chronic Chagas disease, and is one of the leading causes of morbidity and death in Latin America. Although the pathogenesis of Chagas cardiomyopathy is incompletely understood, it may involve several mechanisms, including parasite-dependent myocardial damage, immune-mediated myocardial injury (induced by the parasite it...

BACKGROUND Individuals in the indeterminate phase of Chagas disease are considered to have mortality rates similar to those of the overall population. This study compares mortality rates among blood donors seropositive for Chagas disease and negative controls in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS This is a retrospective cohort study of blood donors from 1996 to 2000...

BACKGROUND Wet swallows cause a greater esophageal contraction amplitude and duration than dry swallows. In Chagas' disease there is a reduction in amplitude of esophageal contraction but we do not know if the difference between wet and dry swallows is seen in the disease. AIM To compare the esophageal contractions after wet and dry swallows in patients with Chagas' disease. METHODS We meas...

One hundred years after its discovery by Carlos Chagas, American trypanosomiasis, or Chagas disease, remains an epidemiologic challenge. Neither a vaccine nor an ideal specific treatment is available for most chronic cases. Therefore, the current strategy for countering Chagas disease consists of preventive actions against the vector and transfusion-transmitted disease. Here, the present challe...

BACKGROUND Data from the literature on the frequency of concomitant Chagas disease and hypertension are controversial and, when available, do not mention the consequences of this concomitance in the natural history of either Chagas disease or of hypertension. OBJECTIVE To assess the frequency of concomitant Chagas disease and hypertension and the clinical and anatomopathological consequences ...

It is currently unknown whether treatment of Chagas disease decreases the risk of congenital transmission from previously treated mothers to their infants. In a cohort of women with Chagas disease previously treated with benznidazole, no congenital transmission of the disease was observed in their newborns. This finding provides support for the treatment of Chagas disease as early as possible.

One hundred years after Carlos Chagas’ discovery [1] WHO defines Chagas disease as one of the most important infectious diseases of poverty. Beyond its biological determinants (interplays among the parasite, vector, and human), the social determinants of Chagas disease are of utmost importance; poor housing and working conditions, low salaries, and malnutrition are directly linked to Chagas dis...

BACKGROUND Chronic cardiomyopathy occurs in 20-40% of the patients with Chagas disease. Autoimmune mechanisms may contribute to its pathogenesis. We diagnosed several cases of systemic autoimmune diseases among Bolivian migrants in Geneva with a high prevalence of Chagas disease. OBJECTIVES We tested the hypothesis of a clinical association between systemic autoimmune diseases and Chagas dise...

INTRODUCTION Publications are often used as a measure of success in research work. Chagas disease occurs in Central and Southern America. However, during the past years, the disease has been occurring outside Latin America due to migration from endemic zones. This article describes a bibliometric review of the literature on Chagas disease research indexed in PubMed during a 70-year period. ME...

Chagas’ disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection, was discovered nearly 100 years ago (1909) by the Brazilian physician Carlos Chagas. Chronic Chagas’ disease is still ranked as the most serious parasitic disease in Latin America. Infected patients remain lifelong parasite carriers. With a latency of 10 to 30 years, nearly one third of parasite carriers develop life-threatening complicati...