IMMUNOENDOCRINE ALTERATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH PROGRESSIVE FORMS OF CHRONIC CHAGAS DISEASE

PÉREZ AR, SILVA-BARBOSA SD, BERBERT LR, REVELLI S, BELOSCAR J, SAVINO W. & BOTTASSO

JOURNAL OF NEUROIMMUNOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2011 vol. 235 p. 84 - 90

0165-5728

We studied the features of parallel immunoneuroendocrine responses in patients with different degrees of chronic Chagas myocarditis (indeterminate, mild/moderate or severe). A systemic inflammatory scenario was evident in patients with severe myocarditis compared to healthy subjects. This was paralleled by a disrupted activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis, characterized by decreased concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone-sulphate (DHEA-s) and an unbalanced cortisol/DHEA-s ratio, reinforcing the view that severe Chagas disease is devoid of an adequate anti-inflammatory milieu, likely involved in pathology. Our study constitutes the first demonstration of neuroendocrine disturbances, in parallel to a systemic inflammatory profile, during progressive human Chagas disease.