title: Use of clomipramine as chemotherapy of the chronic phase of Chagas disease.
abstract: Chagas infection is a major endemic disease affecting Latin American countries. The persistence of Trypanosoma cruzi generates a chronic inflammatory reactivity that induces an immune response directed to the host's tissues. The effectiveness of the treatment in the chronic phase is still unsatisfactory due, amongst other reasons, to the collateral effects of the drugs used. We investigated the effect of clomipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant that, when used as a treatment of T. cruzi-chronically infected mice, inhibits trypanothione reductase, an exclusive and vital enzyme of T. cruzi. Clomipramine improved survival (P<0.05) by diminishing the parasite intensity as demonstrated by PCR studies in the heart and skeletal muscle, and significantly prevented the evolution to fibrosis of the inflammatory infiltrates. Clomipramine could be a good candidate for the treatment of chronic Chagas disease.
authors.affiliation: Cátedra de Parasitología y Micología Médicas, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Santa Rosa 1085, 5000 Córdoba, Argentina.
authors.forename: Romina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fauro
authors.forename: Silvina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lo Presti
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bazan
authors.forename: Alejandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baez
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: Fernanda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Triquell
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cremonezzi
authors.forename: Olga Sanchez
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Negrete
authors.forename: Gaston Camino
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Willhuber
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paglini-Oliva
authors.forename: Hector Walter
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Rivarola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D002997:Clomipramine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000187:drug effects / Q000469:parasitology*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D007843:Latin America; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000469:parasitology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000929:Antidepressive Agents, Tricyclic; D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D002997:Clomipramine