title: Intravenous immunoglobulin increases survival time in the acute phase of experimental Chagas disease.
abstract: Chagas disease induced by Trypanosoma cruzi (Tc) infection is an important cause of mortality and morbidity affecting the cardiovascular system for which presently available therapies are insufficient and largely inadequate. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is a therapeutic preparation containing normal polyspecific IgG obtained from plasma pools of several thousand healthy donors and is used in several autoimmune, inflammatory and infectious diseases. In the study of heart from mice chronically infected with Tc, we observed that IVIg restores type 1 atrioventricular block or bradycardia. In the present study, we investigated the effects of IVIg in acute Tc infection. Intravenous immunoglobulin administration after the first week of infection was associated with an increase in survival time. Taken together, results observed in the chronic and in the acute phase associate IVIg treatment with a favourable outcome in T. cruzi infection.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Innovations in Therapy, Education and Bioproducts, Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Olivieri
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vasconcellos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nóbrega
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Minoprio
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Kaveri
authors.forename: T C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Araújo-Jorge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous