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1.
Homeopathy ; 100(4): 237-43, 2011 Oct.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-21962198

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of different forms of administration of the blood trypomastigotes biotherapy 7dH in mice experimentally infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Male swiss mice were inoculated with 1400 blood trypomastigotes of the Y strain of T. cruzi and allocated into 5 treatment groups: IC (distilled water); TCBZ (benznidazole); TBA(7dH) (biotherapy 7dH 20 days after infection); TBB(7dH)7 (biotherapy 7dH seven days before infection); TBB(7dH)30 (biotherapy 7dH 30 days before infection). Parasitological parameters assessed included pre-patent and patent periods, parasitemia peak, total parasitemia, mortality and survival rates. Cure index was obtained by fresh blood examination, hemoculture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: The TBB(7dH)7 group showed a reduction in parasitemia peak, parasitemia area under the curve and total parasitemia. TBB(7dH)30 showed a tendency to increased pre-patent and survival periods, peak parasitemia was increased without increased total parasitemia. TBA(7dH) did not present significant alterations in the parasitological parameters analyzed. CONCLUSIONS: Biotherapy 7dH given before infection (7 or 30 days) produces different effects suggesting modulation of the host's immune system. The effects range from reduced parasitemia to its effective increase. The use of biotherapy to treat T. cruzi infection including dose, potency and schedule deserves further investigation.


Subject(s)
Chagas Disease/drug therapy , Homeopathy , Trypanocidal Agents/pharmacology , Trypanosoma cruzi/drug effects , Animals , Chagas Disease/parasitology , Disease Models, Animal , Male , Mice , Nitroimidazoles/pharmacology
2.
Exp Parasitol ; 126(4): 435-40, 2010 Dec.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20433834

ABSTRACT

The goals of this study were to evaluate the effect of the Canova medication, a homeopathic immune-system modulator, on the evolution of infection induced by the Trypanosoma cruzi Y strain in mice. The animals were divided into five groups: (i) untreated infected controls (I), (ii) infected animals treated with benznidazole (Bz), (iii) infected animals treated with the Canova medication (CM), (iv) infected animals treated with benznidazole and the Canova medication (Bz+CM), and (v) uninfected controls that received only the vehicle (grain alcohol) (C). The parameters evaluated were: parasitemia, mortality, control of cure, and tissue parasitism analysis. Our results showed that the evolution of the experimental infection was modified by treatment with CM, and that daily and consecutive doses were harmful to the animals, causing death in 100% of the infected animals in a brief period. The analysis of parasitism performed on the organs on the 12th day postinfection showed that in infected animals treated with CM, the number of amastigote/nests in the spleen was significantly reduced, while in cardiac tissue, intestine, and liver the number was significantly increased compared with infected control animals. These results indicate that CM has a negative influence on the host-parasite relationship, modifying the tropism of the parasite for tissues, and increasing the parasitemia peak in this experimental model.


Subject(s)
Chagas Disease/drug therapy , Crotalid Venoms/therapeutic use , Formularies, Homeopathic as Topic , Plant Extracts/therapeutic use , Trypanosoma cruzi/drug effects , Animals , Chagas Disease/parasitology , Crotalid Venoms/pharmacology , Drug Therapy, Combination , Heart/parasitology , Host-Pathogen Interactions/drug effects , Intestines/parasitology , Liver/parasitology , Male , Mice , Nitroimidazoles/pharmacology , Nitroimidazoles/therapeutic use , Parasitemia/drug therapy , Parasitemia/parasitology , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Spleen/parasitology , Trypanocidal Agents/pharmacology , Trypanocidal Agents/therapeutic use , Trypanosoma cruzi/growth & development , Trypanosoma cruzi/physiology
3.
Homeopathy ; 97(2): 59-64, 2008 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-18439965

ABSTRACT

Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, involves immunomediated processes. Canova (CA) is a homeopathic treatment indicated in the diseases in which the immune system is depressed. This study evaluated the Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profile of T. cruzi under the influence of CA and Benznidazole (BZ). Mice infected with the genetic lineage of T. cruzi II (Y strain) were divided into 4 groups: Infected animals treated with saline solution (control group); treated with CA; treated with BZ; treated with CA and BZ combined. Treatment was given at the 5th-25th days of infection (D5-25). The parasites were isolated by haemoculture in Liver Infusion Tryptose (LIT) medium: at D5 (before treatment), D13, 15 and 25 (during treatment) and D55 and 295 (after treatment). DNA was extracted from the mass of parasites. RAPD was done with the primers lambdagt11-F, M13F-40 and L15996, the amplified products were eletrophoresed through a 4% polyacrylamide gel. Data were analyzed by the coefficient of similarity using the DNA-POP program. 163 markers were identified, 5 of them monomorphic. CA did not act against the parasites when used alone. The RAPD profiles of parasites treated with BZ and CA+BZ were different from those in the control group and in the group treated with CA. The actions of the CA and BZ were different and the action of BZ was different from the action of CA+BZ. These data suggest that CA may interact with BZ. The differences in the RAPD profile of the Y strain of T. cruzi produced by BZ, CA+BZ and the natural course of the infection suggest selection/suppression of populations.


Subject(s)
Crotalid Venoms/pharmacology , DNA, Protozoan/analysis , Nitroimidazoles/pharmacology , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Trypanocidal Agents/pharmacology , Trypanosoma cruzi/drug effects , Animals , Chagas Disease/drug therapy , Chagas Disease/parasitology , Materia Medica/pharmacology , Mice , Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique , Trypanosoma cruzi/isolation & purification
4.
Acta Trop ; 156: 1-16, 2016 Apr.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-26747009

ABSTRACT

One of the most significant health problems in the American continent in terms of human health, and socioeconomic impact is Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Infection was originally transmitted by reduviid insects, congenitally from mother to fetus, and by oral ingestion in sylvatic/rural environments, but blood transfusions, organ transplants, laboratory accidents, and sharing of contaminated syringes also contribute to modern day transmission. Likewise, Chagas disease used to be endemic from Northern Mexico to Argentina, but migrations have earned it global. The parasite has a complex life cycle, infecting different species, and invading a variety of cells - including muscle and nerve cells of the heart and gastrointestinal tract - in the mammalian host. Human infection outcome is a potentially fatal cardiomyopathy, and gastrointestinal tract lesions. In absence of a vaccine, vector control and treatment of patients are the only tools to control the disease. Unfortunately, the only drugs now available for Chagas' disease, Nifurtimox and Benznidazole, are relatively toxic for adult patients, and require prolonged administration. Benznidazole is the first choice for Chagas disease treatment due to its lower side effects than Nifurtimox. However, different strategies are being sought to overcome Benznidazole's toxicity including shorter or intermittent administration schedules-either alone or in combination with other drugs. In addition, a long list of compounds has shown trypanocidal activity, ranging from natural products to specially designed molecules, re-purposing drugs commercialized to treat other maladies, and homeopathy. In the present review, we will briefly summarize the upturns of current treatment of Chagas disease, discuss the increment on research and scientific publications about this topic, and give an overview of the state-of-the-art research aiming to produce an alternative medication to treat T. cruzi infection.


Subject(s)
Chagas Disease/epidemiology , Nifurtimox/therapeutic use , Nitroimidazoles/therapeutic use , Trypanocidal Agents/therapeutic use , Americas/epidemiology , Chagas Disease/drug therapy , Humans , Life Cycle Stages/drug effects , Nifurtimox/pharmacology , Nitroimidazoles/pharmacology , Trypanocidal Agents/pharmacology , Trypanosoma cruzi/drug effects
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