Now, tackle Chagas disease with Alzheimer’s medication

Source:
https://www.asianage.com/life/health/240919/now-tackle-chagas-disease-with-alzheimers-medication.html

Memantine lowered levels of the parasite by 40 per cent and increased survival rates from 7.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent.

Washington: Memantine, a drug used to treat Alzheimer's, can also prove effective in treating Chagas, a tropical disease, a new study has found.

The drugs currently used to treat Chagas disease, have serious side effects and limited use in those with chronic disease. However, researchers have found that memantine can diminish the number of parasites in mice infected with Chagas disease, and also increase the survival rate of the animals.

The findings of this study were published in the Journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Chagas can be divided into acute and chronic phases, with the clinical phase causing heart, esophagus or intestinal symptoms.

The two drugs that have been used to treat Chagas for the last 50 years -- nifurtimox and benznidazole -- are highly effective in the acute phase but used sparingly in the chronic phase due to serious side effects that occur with long-term treatment.