The chronic gastrointestinal manifestations of Chagas disease: [review]

ABSTRACT

Chagas disease is an infectious disease caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. The disease mainly affects the nervous system, digestive system and heart. The objective of this review is to revise the literature and summarize the main chronic gastrointestinal manifestations of Chagas disease. The chronic gastrointestinal manifestations of Chagas disease are mainly a result of enteric nervous system impairment caused by T. cruzi infection. The anatomical locations most commonly described to be affected by Chagas disease are salivary glands, esophagus, lower esophageal sphincter, stomach, small intestine, colon, gallbladder and biliary tree. Chagas disease has also been studied in association with Helicobacter pylori infection, interstitial cells of Cajal and the incidence of gastrointestinal cancer.