by Ramírez JC, Acevedo GR, Torres C, Parrado R, De La Barra A, Villarroel S, García L, Gascon J, Ortiz L, Torrico F, Ribeiro I, Schijman AG. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 2022; 17(3): 578–584. doi: 10.1093/jac/dkab446
Summary: The impact of the genetic diversity of natural Trypanosoma cruzi parasite populations on trypanocidal treatment of patients with chronic Chagas disease is not well understood. The authors analysed the genetic polymorphisms of bloodstream parasite populations in patients with chronic Chagas disease enrolled in the E1224 clinical trial; 506 baseline and post-treatment follow-up samples from 188 patients were analysed. There was no difference in the genetic variability of bloodstream parasite populations during post-treatment follow-up and chronic infection in the absence of treatment, suggesting that there were no selection events for E1224-resistant parasite populations. This is the first report documenting the genetic polymorphism of natural T. cruzi populations in chronic patients in the context of clinical trials with trypanocidal drugs.
