Etiologic Treatment With Benznidazole in Adult Patients With Chronic Chagas Disease. A Randomized Clinical Trial

Summary

The purpose of this study is: 1. -to determine whether benznidazole (BZN) will be able to modify the natural evolution of chronic Chagas disease in adult patients by means of a randomized, double-blind clinical trial (RCT). Also: 2. -to validate therapeutic efficacy with new methods, such as recombinant antigen F29 of Trypanosoma cruzi visualized by conventional ELISA, in the context of the RCT compared with conventional serology (CS) 3. -to develop the real-time polymerase chain-reaction (RT-PCR) to quantify the parasite load as an early therapeutic effect. 4. to determine the potential of such serological and parasitological methods as predictors of therapeutic effect or failure.

Timeline

Start

1999-03

Primary completion

2012-12

Completion

2013-04

Publications

• Results Sosa Estani S, Segura EL, Ruiz AM, Velazquez E, Porcel BM, Yampotis C. Efficacy of chemotherapy with benznidazole in children in the indeterminate phase of Chagas' disease. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1998 Oct;59(4):526-9. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1998.59.526.
• Results de Andrade AL, Zicker F, de Oliveira RM, Almeida Silva S, Luquetti A, Travassos LR, Almeida IC, de Andrade SS, de Andrade JG, Martelli CM. Randomised trial of efficacy of benznidazole in treatment of early Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Lancet. 1996 Nov 23;348(9039):1407-13. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(96)04128-1.
• Results Viotti R, Vigliano C, Armenti H, Segura E. Treatment of chronic Chagas' disease with benznidazole: clinical and serologic evolution of patients with long-term follow-up. Am Heart J. 1994 Jan;127(1):151-62. doi: 10.1016/0002-8703(94)90521-5.
• Results Viotti R, Vigliano C, Lococo B, Bertocchi G, Petti M, Alvarez MG, Postan M, Armenti A. Long-term cardiac outcomes of treating chronic Chagas disease with benznidazole versus no treatment: a nonrandomized trial. Ann Intern Med. 2006 May 16;144(10):724-34. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-144-10-200605160-00006.
• Results Porcel BM, Bontempi EJ, Henriksson J, Rydaker M, Aslund L, Segura EL, Pettersson U, Ruiz AM. Trypanosoma rangeli and Trypanosoma cruzi: molecular characterization of genes encoding putative calcium-binding proteins, highly conserved in trypanosomatids. Exp Parasitol. 1996 Dec;84(3):387-99. doi: 10.1006/expr.1996.0127.
• Results Kuschnir E, Sgammini H, Castro R, Evequoz C, Ledesma R, Brunetto J. [Evaluation of cardiac function by radioisotopic angiography, in patients with chronic Chagas cardiopathy]. Arq Bras Cardiol. 1985 Oct;45(4):249-56. No abstract available. Spanish.
• Results Reyes PA, Vallejo M. Trypanocidal drugs for late stage, symptomatic Chagas disease (Trypanosoma cruzi infection). Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2005 Oct 19;(4):CD004102. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004102.pub2.
• Results Villar JC, Perez JG, Cortes OL, Riarte A, Pepper M, Marin-Neto JA, Guyatt GH. Trypanocidal drugs for chronic asymptomatic Trypanosoma cruzi infection. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 May 27;2014(5):CD003463. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003463.pub2.
• Results Schijman AG, Bisio M, Orellana L, Sued M, Duffy T, Mejia Jaramillo AM, Cura C, Auter F, Veron V, Qvarnstrom Y, Deborggraeve S, Hijar G, Zulantay I, Lucero RH, Velazquez E, Tellez T, Sanchez Leon Z, Galvao L, Nolder D, Monje Rumi M, Levi JE, Ramirez JD, Zorrilla P, Flores M, Jercic MI, Crisante G, Anez N, De Castro AM, Gonzalez CI, Acosta Viana K, Yachelini P, Torrico F, Robello C, Diosque P, Triana Chavez O, Aznar C, Russomando G, Buscher P, Assal A, Guhl F, Sosa Estani S, DaSilva A, Britto C, Luquetti A, Ladzins J. International study to evaluate PCR methods for detection of Trypanosoma cruzi DNA in blood samples from Chagas disease patients. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2011 Jan 11;5(1):e931. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000931.

Drugs

Indications