Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26862474›Full record

ArticleInternational journal for parasitology. Drugs and drug resistance2016

Low-dose benznidazole treatment results in parasite clearance and attenuates heart inflammatory reaction in an experimental model of infection with a highly virulent Trypanosoma cruzi strain.

Ágata Carolina Cevey, Gerardo Ariel Mirkin, Federico Nicolás Penas, Nora Beatriz Goren

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal for parasitology. Drugs and drug resistance, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 18% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ágata Carolina CeveyInstituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica (IMPaM - UBA, CONICET), Argentina.
Gerardo Ariel MirkinInstituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica (IMPaM - UBA, CONICET), Argentina.
Federico Nicolás PenasInstituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica (IMPaM - UBA, CONICET), Argentina.
Nora Beatriz GorenInstituto de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Médica (IMPaM - UBA, CONICET), Argentina. Electronic address: ngoren@fmed.uba.ar.
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas · AR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, is the main cause of dilated cardiomyopathy in the Americas. Antiparasitic treatment mostly relies on benznidazole (Bzl) due to Nifurtimox shortage or unavailability. Both induce adverse drug effects (ADE) of varied severity in many patients, leading to treatment discontinuation or abandonment. Since dosage may influence ADE, we aimed to assess Bzl efficacy in terms of parasiticidal and anti-inflammatory activity, using doses lower than those previously reported. BALB/c mice infected with the T. cruzi RA strain were treated with different doses of Bzl. Parasitaemia, mortality and weight change were assessed. Parasite load, tissue infiltrates and inflammatory mediators were studied in the heart. Serum creatine kinase (CK) activity was determined as a marker of heart damage. The infection-independent anti-inflammatory properties of Bzl were studied in an in vitro model of LPS-treated cardiomyocyte culture. Treatment with 25 mg/kg/day Bzl turned negative the parasitological parameters, induced a significant decrease in IL-1β, IL-6 and NOS2 in the heart and CK activity in serum, to normal levels. No mortality was observed in infected treated mice. Primary cultured cardiomyocytes treated with Bzl showed that inflammatory mediators were reduced via inhibition of the NF-κB pathway. A Bzl dose lower than that previously reported for treatment of experimental Chagas disease exerts adequate antiparasitic and anti-inflammatory effects leading to parasite clearance and tissue healing. This may be relevant to reassess the dose currently used for the treatment of human Chagas disease, aiming to minimize ADE.

Indexed as

AnimalsCells, CulturedChagas CardiomyopathyChagas DiseaseCreatine KinaseDisease Models, AnimalDose-Response Relationship, DrugHeartHumansImmunologic FactorsInflammationInterleukin-6MiceMice, Inbred BALB CMyocytes, CardiacNF-kappa BbenzonidazoleCreatine KinaseImmunologic FactorsInterleukin-6NF-kappa BNitric Oxide Synthase Type IINitroimidazolesTrypanocidal AgentsTumor Necrosis Factor-alphaChemotherapyInflammatory mediatorsNF-κBTrypanosoma cruzi

Identifiers

PMID26862474
PMCPMC4706620
OpenAlexW2220496100

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.