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Immunopathology of Chagas disease
| Content Provider | Scilit |
|---|---|
| Author | Andrade, Zilton A. |
| Copyright Year | 1999 |
| Description | The major aspects of the pathogenesis of Chagas disease remain poorly understood. Some crucial pathological findings strongly suggest the participation of immunological fators. Inflamma- tory lesions in the myocardium show no direct cor- relation with the presence of parasites, regardless the clinical stage of the disease. The acute myo- carditis that follows primary infection with Trypa- nosoma cruzi, spontaneously subsides, after a pe- riod of two-three months in most cases, but does not disappear. In its place a mild focal myocarditis remains and may last for years without signs of cumulative damage. Suddenly or slowly, severe, diffuse, progressive and fatal chronic myocarditis ensues after a prolonged period of silent infection, in a small proportion of cases (about 30%). This complex chain of events is unusual to be seen in other parasitic diseases. It has stimulated research on immunology and immunopathology of Chagas disease, but efforts are often hampered by lack of an adequate experimental model. Almost any mam- mal can be infected with T. cruzi. Acute infection (positive parasitemia in peripheral blood) can in- variably be documented a week or more after in- oculation. In some hosts infection will eventually |
| Related Links | http://www.scielo.br/pdf/mioc/v94s1/29.pdf |
| Ending Page | 80 |
| Page Count | 10 |
| Starting Page | 71 |
| ISSN | 00740276 |
| e-ISSN | 16788060 |
| DOI | 10.1590/s0074-02761999000700007 |
| Journal | Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz |
| Issue Number | suppl 1 |
| Volume Number | 94 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | FapUNIFESP (SciELO) |
| Publisher Date | 1999-09-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Trypanosoma Cruzi |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
| Subject | Microbiology (medical) |
