Anxiety, depression, and memory loss in Chagas disease: a puzzle far beyond neuroinflammation to be unpicked and solved*



Título del documento: Anxiety, depression, and memory loss in Chagas disease: a puzzle far beyond neuroinflammation to be unpicked and solved*
Revue: Memorias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Base de datos: PERIÓDICA
Número de sistema: 000459478
ISSN: 0074-0276
Autores: 1
1
1
2
Instituciones: 1Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro. Brasil
2Universidade Federal Fluminense, Faculdade de Medicina, Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro. Brasil
Año:
Volumen: 118
País: Brasil
Idioma: Inglés
Tipo de documento: Artículo
Enfoque: Descriptivo, aplicado
Resumen en inglés Mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, and memory loss have been described in patients with chronic Chagas disease (CD), a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Social, psychological, and biological stressors may take part in these processes. There is a consensus on the recognition of an acute nervous form of CD. In chronic CD patients, a neurological form is associated with immunosuppression and neurobehavioural changes as sequelae of stroke. The chronic nervous form of CD has been refuted, based on the absence of histopathological lesions and neuroinflammation; however, computed tomography shows brain atrophy. Overall, in preclinical models of chronic T. cruzi infection in the absence of neuroinflammation, behavioural disorders such as anxiety and depression, and memory loss are related to brain atrophy, parasite persistence, oxidative stress, and cytokine production in the central nervous system. Interferon-gamma (IFNγ)-bearing microglial cells are colocalised with astrocytes carrying T. cruzi amastigote forms. In vitro studies suggest that IFNγ fuels astrocyte infection by T. cruzi and implicate IFNγ-stimulated infected astrocytes as sources of TNF and nitric oxide, which may also contribute to parasite persistence in the brain tissue and promote behavioural and neurocognitive changes. Preclinical trials in chronically infected mice targeting the TNF pathway or the parasite opened paths for therapeutic approaches with a beneficial impact on depression and memory loss. Despite the path taken, replicating aspects of the chronic CD and testing therapeutic schemes in preclinical models, these findings may get lost in translation as the chronic nervous form of CD does not fulfil biomedical model requirements, as the presence of neuroinflammation, to be recognised. It is hoped that brain atrophy and behavioural and neurocognitive changes are sufficient traits to bring the attention of researchers to study t
Disciplinas: Medicina
Palabras clave: Microbiología,
Neurología,
Psiquiatría,
Enfermedad de Chagas,
Trastornos neurológicos,
Cambios conductuales,
Ansiedad,
Depresión,
Pérdida de memoria,
Benzonidazol,
Inmunoterapia
Keyword: Microbiology,
Neurology,
Psychiatry,
Chagas disease,
Neurological disorders,
Behavioural changes,
Anxiety,
Depression,
Memory loss,
Benznidazole,
Immunotherapy
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