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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz
ISSN: 1678-8060 EISSN: 1678-8060
Vol. 97, No. 1, 2002, pp. 3-24
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Bioline Code: oc02002
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge
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Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Vol. 97, No. 1, 2002, pp. 3-24
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A Critical Review on Chagas Disease Chemotherapy
José Rodrigues Coura & Solange L de Castro
Abstract
In this "Critical Review" we made a historical introduction of drugs
assayed against Chagas disease beginning in 1912 with the works of Mayer and Rocha
Lima up to the experimental use of nitrofurazone. In the beginning of the 70s,
nifurtimox and benznidazole were introduced for clinical treatment, but results
showed a great variability and there is still a controversy about their use for
chronic cases. After the introduction of these nitroheterocycles only a few compounds
were assayed in chagasic patients. The great advances in vector control in the
South Cone countries, and the demonstration of parasite in chronic patients indicated
the urgency to discuss the etiologic treatment during this phase, reinforcing
the need to find drugs with more efficacy and less toxicity. We also review potential
targets in the parasite and present a survey about new classes of synthetic and
natural compounds studied after 1992/1993, with which we intend to give to the
reader a general view about experimental studies in the area of the chemotherapy
of Chagas disease, complementing the previous papers of Brener (1979) and De Castro
(1993).
Keywords
Chagas disease, chemotherapy, review, Trypanosoma cruzi, drug development, clinical treatment
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© Copyright 2002 Instituto Oswaldo Cruz - Fiocruz Alternative site location: http://memorias.ioc.fiocruz.br
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