Trypanosoma cruzi strains and autonomic nervous system pathology in experimental chagas disease

Abstract

Lesions involving the sympathetic (para-vertebral ganglia)

Chagas' heart disease

“…These findings were reproduced by investigations in animal models of the disease 49,[83][84][85][86][96][97][98][99] . The histopathologic features are foci of damaged nervous tissue arranged in a diffuse and irregular distribution.…”

Pathology of intracardiac nerves in experimental Chagas disease

“…Neuronal loss may occur in the atrial parasympathetic ganglia, although a mild focal nature, as observed during severe acute myocarditis of mice (Souza et al 1996), when three different T. cruzi strains were compared. When a neuron is destroyed, the associated axon undergoes Wallerian degeneration.…”

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

“…The genotypic ) and phenotypic (Tibayrenc & Ayala 1988) variability of circulating strains of T. cruzi can make it difficult to interpret the different manifestations of the disease and also to make correlations between strains and clinical symptoms. However, two zymodemes genetically related as Z2b (Y strain) and Z2 have been shown to be involved in inflammatory lesions of the ganglionic cells of the autonomic nervous system (Souza et al 1996). The possibility of mixed infection with distinct subpopulations of T. cruzi in natural human infections can not be discarded ).…”