Differential tissue distribution of discrete typing units after drug combination therapy in experimental mixed infection.

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the distribution of the different clones of the parasite prevailing after treatment with benznidazole (BZ) and clomipramine (CLO), in mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, Casibla isolate which consists of a mixture of two discrete typing units (DTUs). Albino Swiss mice were infected and treated with high and low concentrations of BZ (100 or 6.25 mg/kg), CLO (5 or 1.

[Analysis of the mitochondrial function and ultrastructure in healthy albino mice treated with heart failure medications].

Background: Mitochondrial activity is essential for cardiac and skeletal muscle. The relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and different cardiovascular conditions has been well described. Pharmacological treatment for heart failure involves different drugs as: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, B-adrenergic blockers, digitalis glycosides and diuretics.

Differential tissue distribution of Trypanosoma cruzi during acute experimental infection: Further evidence using natural isolates.

In the present work, we evaluated the effect of mixed Trypanosoma cruzi infections, studying the biological distribution of the different parasites in blood, heart and skeletal muscle during the acute phase. Albino Swiss mice were infected with different parasite strain/isolates or with a combination of them. The parasites in the different tissues were typified through specific PCR, population variability was analyzed through RFLP studies and parasitological and histopathological parameters were evaluated.

Trypanothione reductase inhibitors: Overview of the action of thioridazine in different stages of Chagas disease.

Thioridazine (TDZ) is a phenothiazine that has been shown to be one of the most potent phenothiazines to inhibit trypanothione reductase irreversibly. Trypanothione reductase is an essential enzyme for the survival of Trypanosoma cruzi in the host. Here, we reviewed the use of this drug for the treatment of T.

Functional and structural alterations of cardiac and skeletal muscle mitochondria in heart failure patients.

Background And Aims: The fundamental mechanisms involved in the genesis and progression of heart failure are not clearly understood. The present study was conducted to analyze the cardiac mitochondrial involvement in heart failure, the possible parallelism between cardiac and skeletal muscle and if there is a link between clinical symptoms and mitochondrial damage.

Methods: Left ventricle and pectoral biopsies were obtained from patients with heart failure (n: 21) and patients with inter-auricular communication as the unique diagnosis for surgery (n: 6).

Circulating Trypanosoma cruzi populations differ from those found in the tissues of the same host during acute experimental infection.

We evaluated the presence and distribution of two Trypanosoma cruzi natural isolates in blood, heart, skeletal muscle, liver, and spleen tissues in the acute phase of the experimental infection (35 days postinfection) in order to determine if the populations present in blood were different to those found in the tissues of the same host. Thirty mice were infected with 50 forms of each isolate or with a combination of them. Presence and molecular characterization of the parasites in the host tissues were determined by specific PCR.

Use of clomipramine as chemotherapy of the chronic phase of Chagas disease.

Chagas infection is a major endemic disease affecting Latin American countries. The persistence of Trypanosoma cruzi generates a chronic inflammatory reactivity that induces an immune response directed to the host's tissues. The effectiveness of the treatment in the chronic phase is still unsatisfactory due, amongst other reasons, to the collateral effects of the drugs used.