demystifying-vivo-bioluminescence-imaging-chagas-disease-mouse-model

Demystifying In Vivo Bioluminescence Imaging of a Chagas Disease Mouse Model for Drug Efficacy Studies

To control and decrease the public health impact of human protozoan diseases such as Chagas disease, leishmaniasis, and human African trypanosomiasis, ...

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) Latin America

Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. It is a significant public health problem, affecting millions of people worldwide. And although it was described 110 years ago, only two old nitroheterocyclic drugs, benznidazole and nifurtimox, are currently available for the treatment of Chagas disease and both have several limitations. Besides the clear unmet medical need, many challenges preclude the development of new treatments, some of them related to a lack of understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease and parasite-host interactions. New knowledge and tools are becoming available, but the number of new chemical entities progressing through the preclinical pipeline is inadequate. Therefore, it is still uncertain whether safe, effective and accessible new drugs will be available in the near future. The Chagas disease research community must commit to even greater collaboration to ensure that patients eventually benefit from better treatments.

Drug discovery for chagas disease: A viewpoint.

Chagas disease is a neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasite  that endangers almost 70 million people worldwide. The only two drugs that are currently approved for its treatment, benznidazole and nifurtimox, have controversial efficacy in adults and restricting safety issues, leaving thousands of patients without a suitable treatment. The neglect of Chagas disease is further illustrated by the lack of a robust and diverse drug discovery and development portfolio of new chemical entities, and it is of paramount importance to build a strong research and development network for antichagasic drugs. Focusing on drug discovery programs led by scientists based in Latin America, the main endemic region for this disease, we discuss herein what has been published in the last decade in terms of identification of new antiparasitic drugs to treat Chagas disease, shining a spotlight on the origin, chemical diversity, level of characterization of hits, and strategies used for optimization of lead compounds. Finally, we identify strengths and weaknesses in these drug discovery campaigns and highlight the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing.

Jadel M. Kratz

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) Latin America

Demystifying In Vivo Bioluminescence Imaging of a Chagas Disease Mouse Model for Drug Efficacy Studies