Effect of statins on inflammation and cardiac function in patients with chronic Chagas disease: A protocol for pathophysiological studies in a multicenter, placebo-controlled, proof-of-concept phase II trial.

Background: Cardiac complications, including heart failure and arrhythmias, are the leading causes of disability and death in Chagas disease (CD). CD, caused by the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, afflicts 7 million people in Latin America, and its incidence is increasing in non-endemic countries due to migration. The cardiac involvement is explained by parasite-dependent, immune-mediated myocardial injury, microvascular abnormalities, and ischemia.

[Trypanosoma cruzi transplacental infection in Chile: diagnosis, treatment and control ].

Trypanosoma cruzi transplacental infection represents a serious public health concern in all the countries like Chile where recent success of insecticide spraying programs eliminated the vector. Because children infected with T. cruzi are usually asymptomatic, a study was designed including infected mothers and their children.