ABSTRACT
By controlling the transmission of Chagas disease, the challenge of providing assistance to millions of infected patients that reach old age arises. In this study, the socioeconomic, demographic and comorbidity records of all elderly chagasic patients followed at the Pharmaceutical Care Service of the Chagas Disease Research Laboratory were assessed. The information related to the clinical form of the disease was obtained from medical records provided by the Walter Cantídio University Hospital. The profile of the studied population was: women (50.5%); mean age of 67 years; retired (54.6%); married (51.6 %); high illiteracy rate (40.2%); and family income equal to the minimum wage (51.5%). The predominant clinical forms of Chagas disease were cardiac (65.3%) and indeterminate (14.7%). The main electrocardiographic changes were the right bundle branch block (41.0%), associated or not with the anterosuperior left bundle branch block (27.4%). The average number of comorbidities per patient was 2.23 ± 1.54, with systemic arterial hypertension being the main one found (67.0%). It was found that the elderly comprise a vulnerable group of patients that associate aging with cardiac and/or digestive disorders resulting from the evolution of Chagas disease and other comorbidities, which requires special attention from health services to ensure more appropriate medical and social care.
Controlando-se a transmissão da doença de Chagas, surge o desafio de prestar assistência a milhões de pacientes infectados que chegam à velhice. Neste estudo, foram avaliados os registros socioeconômicos, demográficos e de comorbidades de todos os pacientes chagásicos idosos acompanhados no Serviço de Atenção Farmacêutica do Laboratório de Pesquisa em Doença de Chagas. As informações relacionadas à forma clínica da doença foram obtidas a partir de registros médicos disponibilizados pelo Hospital Universitário Walter Cantídio. O perfil da população estudada foi de: mulheres (50,5%); idade média de 67 anos; aposentados (54,6%); casados (51,6%); alta taxa de analfabetismo (40,2%); e renda familiar de um salário mínimo (51,5%). As formas clínicas predominantes da doença de Chagas foram a cardíaca (65,3%) e a indeterminada (14,7%). As principais alterações eletrocardiográficas foram o bloqueio de ramo direito (41,0%), associado ou não ao bloqueio ântero superior esquerdo (27,4%). O número médio de comorbidades por paciente foi de 2,23 ± 1,54, sendo a hipertensão arterial sistêmica a principal encontrada (67,0%). Verificou-se que os idosos constituem grupo vulnerável de pacientes que associam o envelhecimento com as alterações cardíacas e/ou digestivas resultantes da evolução da doença de Chagas e outras comorbidades, o que exige atenção especial dos serviços de saúde para um atendimento médico e social mais adequado.
Subject(s)
Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Chagas Disease/epidemiology , Pharmaceutical Services , Brazil/epidemiology , Chronic Disease , Cross-Sectional Studies , Socioeconomic FactorsABSTRACT
In Chagas disease, understanding how the immune response controls parasite growth but also leads to heart damage may provide insight into the design of new therapeutic strategies. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-á) is important for resistance to acute Trypanosoma cruzi infection; however, in patients suffering from chronic T. cruzi infection, plasma TNF-á levels correlate with cardiomyopathy. Recent data suggest that CD8-enriched chagasic myocarditis formation involves CCR1/CCR5-mediated cell migration. Herein, the contribution of TNF-á, especially signaling through the receptor TNFR1/p55, to the pathophysiology of T. cruzi infection was evaluated with a focus on the development of myocarditis and heart dysfunction. Colombian strain-infected C57BL/6 mice had increased frequencies of TNFR1/p55+ and TNF-á+ splenocytes. Although TNFR1-/- mice exhibited reduced myocarditis in the absence of parasite burden, they succumbed to acute infection. Similar to C57BL/6 mice, Benznidazole-treated TNFR1-/- mice survived acute infection. In TNFR1-/- mice, reduced CD8-enriched myocarditis was associated with defective activation of CD44+CD62Llow/- and CCR5+ CD8+ lymphocytes. Also, anti-TNF-á treatment reduced the frequency of CD8+CCR5+ circulating cells and myocarditis, though parasite load was unaltered in infected C3H/HeJ mice. TNFR1-/- and anti-TNF-á-treated infected mice showed regular expression of connexin-43 and reduced fibronectin deposition, respectively. Furthermore, anti-TNF-á treatment resulted in lower levels of CK-MB, a cardiomyocyte lesion marker. Our results suggest that TNF/TNFR1 signaling promotes CD8-enriched myocarditis formation and heart tissue damage, implicating the TNF/TNFR1 signaling pathway as a potential therapeutic target for control of T. cruzi-elicited cardiomyopathy.