Chagas' disease occurs throughout Mexico, Central and South America and still represents a serious threat to public health. The overall prevalence of infection by Trypanosoma cruzi was estimated at 16-18 million cases in 2005 and updated to approximately 28 million people in 2007, according to the World Health Organization. Chronic Chagas heart disease is the most common form of cardiomyopathy in Central and South America and one of the leading causes of death from cardiovascular disease in endemic areas. So far, there is no effective treatment for this disease except for heart transplantation in individuals who develop a more severe form the disease. Recent works have shown that the use of stem cells from various sources tested in animal models and in human heart diseases, including myocardial infarction, have resulted in an improvement in aspects such as vascularization, regeneration of the heart muscle, in ejection fraction and in quality of life of individuals treated. These data led researchers to investigate the effects of transplantation of bone marrow mononuclear cells in muriine models and chronic chagasic individuals. The present review aims to show the work carried out using cell therapy in chronic Chagas heart disease.
Chagas' disease; cardiomyopathy; stem cells; bone marrow; cellular therapy
