mechanism of latent chagas disease
14â16 The neuronal loss in Chagas heart disease has been postulatedto occur predominantly during the acute phase of the infec-tion, with participation of 3 mechanisms: direct parasitism ofneurons, degeneration caused by periganglionic inflamma-tion, and antineuronal autoimmune reaction.nly inthe late 1940s, through improved specific serological tests todetect antibodies against T cruzi, the clinical syndromes ofmegaesophagus, megacolon, and heart failure, by then ofunknown cause, were ascribed to Chagas disease, and the firstreport of cardiac neuronal damage appeared in the literature.