Risk progression to chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy: influence of male sex and of parasitaemia detected by polymerase chain reaction.

Background: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) allows detection of Trypanosoma cruzi in blood throughout the course of Chagas' disease.

Objective: To determine whether T cruzi DNA detected by PCR is associated with progression to chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

[Medicine and history. Concerning of the case of a man with a tumour on his forehead].

This case report is about the sickness of a 59 year old priest, politician and war veteran who died in 1844. The case history is based on the detailed report of his doctor, gathered in a diary and later published. The collected clinical data relied exclusively on touch and observation.