title: Chagas' disease: a search for treatment and a question--should the disease be of military concern?
abstract: If military forces are required to operate in areas that are endemic for Chagas' disease, the occupation should be of critical concern. These areas, located in Central and South America, are many. The matter is of particular importance because no suitable drug exists to treat individuals who contract the disease. We examined 60 compounds of a chemical class, thiosemicarbazones, known to have some activity against the disease. The work was carried out using Trypanosoma cruzi-infected mice. Of the 60 potential drugs evaluated, 12 showed significant suppressive activity. One of these compounds was almost 50% greater than the reference drug used in the test system.
authors.affiliation: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814-4799, USA.
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Kinnamon
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Poon
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Scovill
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.forename: V B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Waits
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008887:Military Medicine; D009547:Nifurtimox / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013882:Thiosemicarbazones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014344:Trypanocidal Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D013882:Thiosemicarbazones; D014344:Trypanocidal Agents; D009547:Nifurtimox