The treatment with selenium increases placental parasitismin pregnant Wistar rats infected with the Y strain of Trypanosoma cruzi.

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient in the diet of mammals and has an important role in the immune function. Selenium is a key element in selenoproteins involved in the in the maintenance of the antioxidant defense. Diet with selenium is beneficial for the treatment of diseases correlated with high levels of oxidative stress, also observed in the Chagas disease.

Influence of Trypanosoma cruzi chronic infection in the depletion of esophageal neurons in Calomys callosus.

The extent of neuronal loss was studied in this work, in aged female Calomys callosus infected with the MORC-1 strain of Trypanosoma cruzi. Fifteen months after infection, one group of animals was immunosuppressed with cyclophosphamide (CY). Sections of the distal esophagus were collected and stained with cresyl violet.