Small molecule biomarkers predictive of Chagas disease progression.

Chagas disease (CD) is a neglected tropical disease caused by the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. However, only 20% to 30% of infected individuals will progress to severe symptomatic cardiac manifestations. Current treatments are benznidazole and nifurtimox, which are poorly tolerated regimens.

Early identification of patients with Chagas disease at risk of developing cardiomyopathy using 2-D speckle tracking strain: prediction of Chagas cardiomyopathy.

Background: Chagas disease is an endemic protozoan disease with high prevalence in Latin America. Of those infected, 20-30% will develop chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC) however, prediction using existing clinical criteria remains poor. In this study, we investigated the utility of left ventricular (LV) echocardiographic speckle-tracking global longitudinal strain (GLS) for early detection of CCC.