What Do You Need to Know before Studying Chagas Disease? A Beginner’s Guide

Abstract

Chagas disease is one of the most important tropical infections in the world and mainly affects poor people. The causative agent is the hemoflagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, which circulates among insect vectors and mammals throughout the Americas. A large body of research on Chagas disease has shown the complexity of this zoonosis, and controlling it remains a challenge for public health systems. Although knowledge of Chagas disease has advanced greatly, there are still many gaps, and it is necessary to continue generating basic and applied research to create more effective control strategies. The aim of this review is to provide up-to-date information on the components of Chagas disease and highlight current trends in research. We hope that this review will be a starting point for beginners and facilitate the search for more specific information.

Neutrophils versus Protozoan Parasites: Plasmodium, Trichomonas, Leishmania, Trypanosoma, and Entameoba

“…Once in tissues, metacyclic trypomastigotes can infect many types of nucleated cells, entering into a parasitophorous vacuole, where they differentiate into small round-shaped amastigotes. Later, amastigotes exit the parasitophorous vacuole into the cell cytoplasm, where they proliferate by binary fission until the cell fills with these replicative forms [188]. At this point, some amastigotes elongate, regain a long flagellum, and differentiate into non-replicative trypomastigotes, which induce host cell lysis.…”

Exploring Peripheral Blood-Derived Extracellular Vesicles as Biomarkers: Implications for Chronic Chagas Disease with Viral Infection or Transplantation

“…Limited access to healthcare facilities, inadequate funds for disease surveillance, and a lack of knowledge all add to the difficulties in combating this neglected tropical disease. The control and management of Chagas disease necessitate a multifaceted strategy that covers not just medical problems but also social, economic, and environmental variables that contribute to the illness’s persistence [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. While initially concentrated in Latin America, the disease has spread to non-endemic continents via the immigration of infected individuals [ 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”

“…Transmission can occur via contact with infected triatomine feces, congenital transmission, blood transfusion, laboratory accidents, or oral infection [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Following the acute phase, which typically lasts around two weeks, patients enter the chronic phase, where approximately 30–40% of individuals develop clinical manifestations such as digestive, cardiac, and cerebral alterations [ 2 , 16 , 17 ]. The clinical manifestations of Chagas disease are divided into two phases: acute and chronic [ 18 ].…”

Synthesis of Analogs of Waltheriones S and T and Their Activity Against Trypanosoma cruzi

“…[1] Chagas is a protozoal disease that is caused by the trypanosomatid Trypanosoma cruzi, which is mostly transmitted by blood-sucking triatomine insects, although other routes of transmission are also possible. [2,3] Only two old drugs, benznidazole and nifurtimox, are currently available for the treatment of Chagas disease; [1,4] while these drugs can be curative when administered shortly after the infection, their efficacy diminishes at later stages of the disease.…”