A Potential Cure for Kissing Bug’s Infectious Bite

Chagas disease, which is caused by a parasite and transmitted by a “kissing bug,” can lead to intestinal infection, heart disease and even death. Right now, treatment options are limited and toxic. This might change if new research on VNI, a small molecule, continues to show promise. In mouse models, researchers used VNI to inhibit an enzyme that the parasite needs to survive, achieving both a 100 percent parasitological cure and survival rate with no toxic side effects.
Source: NIGMS Biomedical Beat - Category: Research Source Type: news