Diffuse Myocardial Fibrosis and Cardiomyocyte Diameter Are Associated With Heart Failure Symptoms in Chagas Cardiomyopathy.

Background: Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC) constitutes the most life-threatening consequence of the infection. Our goal was to test in CCC the associations of the myocardial tissue phenotype with cardiac dysfunction, and heart failure (HF) severity, using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).

Methods: We performed a prospective observational cohort of patients with consecutive CCC with a CMR protocol, including ventricular function, myocardial T1, and late gadolinium enhancement (LGE).

Evaluation of Trypanosoma cruzi parasitic load by real-time PCR and blood culture in long-term kidney transplant recipients.

Introduction: Acute Chagas disease involving reactivation can occur after organ transplant, and follow-up by direct parasitological or molecular methods is essential for monitoring the parasitic load in such patients. In contrast, there is a little data on the parasitic load in long-term organ recipients. In this study, we examined the parasitic load in long-term kidney transplant patients and assessed the possibility of late Chagas disease reactivation.