Acute Fatal Trypanosoma Cruzi Meningoencephalitis in a Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Positive Hemophiliac Patient

Chagas' Disease and HIV Co-infection: Genotypic Characterization of the Trypanosoma cruzi Strain

“…The literature has reported the involvement of the central nervous system in cases of co-infection Chagas' disease/AIDS (Ferreira et al 1991, Rocha et al 1994) although cerebral lesions have only rarely been observed in chronic chagasic immunocompetent patients (Pittella 1985). Up to now, around 50 cases of CNS involvement in cases of association Chagas' disease/AIDS are known and have been reported at scientific meetings.…”

“…+ Corresponding author. Fax: +55-21-590.3495 Received 25 August 1997 Accepted 8 January 1998 been described in immunosuppressed patients, some of them showing fatal central nervous system (CNS) lesions related to the reactivation of the parasite (Del Castillo et al 1990, Ferreira et al 1991, Gluckstein et al 1992, Rocha et al 1994, Ferreira 1996.…”

Parasite Genotypically Related to a Monoxenous Trypanosomatid of Dog's Flea Causing Opportunistic Infection in an HIV Positive Patient

“…Particularly in cases of HIV co-infection the clinical symptoms are frequently peculiar. Cases of central nervous system tumor-like lesions (Ferreira et al 1991, Pittella 1993, Rocha et al 1994) and cutaneous lesions manifestations (Amato et al 1997) related to the reactivation of Chagas' disease have been reported in association with immunosuppression. Distinct Leishmania isoenzymatic patterns and specific dermotropic zymodemes have also been found causing visceral leishmaniasis (Campino et al 1994, Jimenez et al 1995, Alvar et al 1997.…”

Tumour-like chagasic encephalitis in AIDS patients: an atypical presentation in one of them and outcome in a small series of cases

“…It is noteworthy that the parasites are able to reach the central nervous system at the time of their first contact with its host 11,12 and, thence, most probably, lodge in neurones and/or glia cells 13,14 . In normal conditions, the surveillance of the immune system takes control of them, but if for any reason the immune system fails, they will be allowed to reproduce and leave the host cell [5][6][7][8][9] . This sort of behaviour has been noted in patients whose immune system has been weakened by the employment of citotoxic drugs 14,15 .…”

“…Therefore, Chagas' disease, which is a dormant infection in most patients 5 , may reactivate if the immunological surveillance wanes off as the consequence of the viral insult. Along the last years we 6,7 and others [8][9][10] found patients afflicted by AIDS, who developed brain lesions yielded by the Trypanosoma cruzi.…”