Ketoconazole promotes parasitological cure of mice infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.

Administration of 120 mg/kg/day of ketoconazole for 9 weeks resulted in parasitological cure of at least 78.5% of mice infected with 10(5) blood trypanosomes of Trypanosoma cruzi, strain Y. These results and the fact that ketoconazole is widely used in humans for prolonged therapy of fungal infections without significant side effects strongly suggest that further evaluation of ketoconazole for treatment of Chagas disease is highly desirable.