Chagas disease: An alternative look to treatment,Enfermedad de Chagas: Una mirada alternativa al tratamiento

Chagas disease is a potentially fatal condition caused by the hemoparasite Trypanosoma cruzi. It is the third most widely distributed tropical disease worldwide, and an endemic condition constituting a public health problem in Latin America. The objective is to conduct an updated review about Chagas disease, the genotoxicity and mutagenicity derived from its treatment, and the various therapeutic alternatives under development. To achieve such an end, a search was carried out in the databases SciELO, PubMed, ScienceDirect and Embase, using key words selected from the DeCS and combinations thereof. The search was limited to Spanish and English and covered papers published from 2002 to 2016. It is concluded that American trypanosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease whose pharmacological management has proved insufficient as to the risk-benefit relationship. At present there are a large number of compounds with promising properties for alternative management of the disease. © 2017, Editorial Ciencias Medicas. All rights reserved.