Current Treatment of Chagas Disease

AbstractPurpose of reviewChagas disease (CD) is recognized as a neglected tropical disease. It is endemic of Latin America, but globalization has led to its spread worldwide. Even though its presence has been tracked at least 9000  years ago, treatment options remain scarce. The purpose of this review is to analyze the evidence for current and future options to combat the disease.Recent findingsCD patients benefit from dietary and exercise recommendations. Benznidazole and nifurtimox continue to be the available treatment options. Besides them, several drugs have been developed, repurposed, and tested in clinical trials, mostly inhibitors of the ergosterol synthesis like albaconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole, ravuconazole/fosravuconazole, voriconazole, and TAK-187; antiarrhythmics like amiodarone/dronedarone; inhibitors of the purine synthesis like allopurinol; nitroimidazoles like fexinidazole; and minerals like selenium. Even though they have shown in vitro and in vivo activity againstTrypanosoma cruzi, their effectiveness is inferior to the one from benznidazole. Chronic CD patients who develop the cardio-digestive forms of the disease may eventually need assistive devices and/or surgical procedures to improve their outcome.SummaryBenznidazole and nifurtimox are the only trypanosomal drugs available to combatT. cruzi infection, and their effectiveness relies upon the stage of the disease at where the patients are. Their side effects frequently lead to patient ’s non-...
Source: Current Treatment Options in Infectious Diseases - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research