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Vaccine from Chagas disease will appear in the near future
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Chagas disease is a tropical parasitic disease that is caused by protozoan parasites, usually bugs carry the infection, it can also be infected with blood transfusions, organ transplantation, the use of contaminated foods, etc. At first the disease is practically asymptomatic, therefore Chagas disease is still known under the name "a silent killer". The drugs used in this disease cause serious side effects, in addition, to this day there has been no vaccine against this disease.
A group of researchers from the University of Texas and the School of Tropical Medicine said that in the near future a drug can be developed from Chagas disease, which has a minimum of side effects.
During the joint work, scientists were able to identify a molecule that "hides" the infection from the human immune system.
The results of the research were published in one journal of tropical medicine, which is published in the US, the report said that the researchers studied the protein TC24, which is used by pathogens to become invisible to immune cells. As a result, the disease has gone unnoticed for decades, and it can be identified in later stages, when practically nothing can be done.
In 30% of cases , Chagas disease becomes chronic, which provokes myocardial diseases that are not treatable. TC24 protein refers to antigens that are capable of inducing nonspecific activation of B cells, which in turn release antibodies to kill pathogenic microorganisms.
As the leading expert of the new scientific project Dr. Eric L. Brown from the school of public health noted, the next stage of the research group's work will be the modification of the molecule, as a result of which immunity can stop the occurrence and spread of the infection.
In the world, despite all the advances in medicine and science, many diseases, including parasitic infections that are transmitted by insects, still remain incurable. For example, from Dengue fever almost half of infected people die (with hemorrhagic form). But recently it became known that Mexican scientists have already received a patent for the preparation of a cure for a deadly virus, which annually takes the lives of thousands of people.
According to some reports, the drug will be produced by the pharmacological company of France and already today doctors are allowed to use the vaccine in places where the maximum incidence is observed (South-East Asia, Africa).
The pharmaceutical company noted that the drug, before going on sale, went through all the necessary tests and tests, including clinical tests on rodents and humans. As a result of all studies, the drug proved to be effective and safe.
Dengue fever affects about 400 million people annually, as a result of infection, encephalitis, polyneuritis, parotitis develops. Primary infection with the virus causes a classical form, in which the predictions in most cases are favorable, multiple infection with different strains of the virus causes hemorrhagic form, in which the mortality rate is quite high.