New data has been collected on the safety of benznidazole drug, which is used commonly to treat Chagas disease.
Knowledge about its toxicity profile is scarce and mostly based on post-marketing observational studies.
Chagas Disease
Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is a parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi that is spread by the triatomine bug.
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‘The frequency of adverse reactions to benznidazole is very high when treating chronic Chagas patients.’
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Benznidazole is one of the two existing antiparasitic drugs for Chagas' disease treatment. However, it is a poorly tolerated drug and its use to treat chronic disease raises safety concerns.
In order to provide a systemic evaluation of safety of benznidazole in chronically infected adults, the authors of the study combined data from two prospective clinical trials performed in 2013 and 2016 at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, designed to assess the safety of the drug produced by ELEA Laboratories, Argentina.
![New Target for Vaccine to Treat Chagas Disease]( "New Target for Vaccine to Treat Chagas Disease")
Th17 cells, a special type of white blood cell, recognizes the presence of a foreign invader and helps other cells in the immune system to initiate an attack.
Adverse reactions were observed in 85 of the 99 participants, with an average of three adverse reactions per patient.
Most adverse reactions (90%) were mild and appeared in the first month of treatment.
The researchers also identified some unexpected adverse reactions that were not described previously, such as sleeping disorders and anxiety.
"These results confirm that, with the most widely used dosage and regimen, there is a high frequency of adverse reactions to benznidazole" says Maria Jesús Pinazo, ISGlobal researcher and study co-author.
"Until we have something better, benznidazole will remain part of the treatment in the near future, so these results underline the urgent need to find ways to combine it with other drugs or use different dosages in order to achieve maximum efficacy with the minimum toxicity", she adds.
Source: Eurekalert
New Target for Vaccine to Treat Chagas Disease
Th17 cells, a special type of white blood cell, recognizes the presence of a foreign invader and helps other cells in the immune system to initiate an attack.
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Adverse reactions were observed in 85 of the 99 participants, with an average of three adverse reactions per patient.
Most adverse reactions (90%) were mild and appeared in the first month of treatment.
The researchers also identified some unexpected adverse reactions that were not described previously, such as sleeping disorders and anxiety.
"These results confirm that, with the most widely used dosage and regimen, there is a high frequency of adverse reactions to benznidazole" says Maria Jesús Pinazo, ISGlobal researcher and study co-author.
"Until we have something better, benznidazole will remain part of the treatment in the near future, so these results underline the urgent need to find ways to combine it with other drugs or use different dosages in order to achieve maximum efficacy with the minimum toxicity", she adds.
Source: Eurekalert
Chagas Disease Prevalence in Southern Texas is Much Higher Than Previously Thought
The burden of Chagas disease in Southern Texas is 23 times higher than previously estimated, revealed a new study.
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 Effective Treatment For Chagas Disease is a NecessityDocking simulation holds for the identification of potential drug-like inhibitors of the target protein and therapies for Chagas disease. | Advertisement
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