- What is expected is that this new medical treatment may constitute a therapeutic alternative to treat the condition with fewer side effects than those generated by current drugs.
- The effects caused by the drugs used to treat this infection mean that patients do not complete treatment.
- In Mexico alone, it is estimated that more than one million people suffer from Chagas disease.
Scientists from the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) won first place in the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) Award for Mexican Innovation 2022, in the Patent category. The reason was the development of a medical treatment that could benefit thousands of people.
The award was given for the development of innovation Treatment of Chagas disease using ketanserin tartrate. What is expected is that it may constitute a therapeutic alternative to treat this condition with fewer side effects than those generated by current drugs.
This recognition seeks to promote Mexican talent and innovation projects, as well as promote the culture of protection through patents, utility models and national industrial designs.
What is the new medical treatment?
The research group that won the award is led by doctors Gildardo Rivera Sánchez, from the Center for Genomic Biotechnology (CBG) and Benjamín Nogueda Torres, from the National School of Biological Sciences (ENCB), who for 15 years have focused their studies in search of new pharmacological treatments against the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, infectious agent of Chagas disease.
The severe side effects caused by the drugs used to treat this infection cause patients do not complete treatment, which influences the evolution of the disease. These include: intense headaches, persistent vomiting, nausea, dizziness and insomnia, among others.
Less invasive medical treatment for patients
Gildardo Rivera Sánchez specified that the purpose of the research he directs is to have shorter treatments and lower doses in the future for reduce the adverse effects and generate greater adherence of around a million Mexicans who suffer from Chagas disease.
“We patented the use of eight drugs -repositioning- through bioinformatic tools, which have proven their effectiveness in vitro and in vivo -in mice- against the Trypanosoma cruzi parasite, and three more are currently in the patent process. By evaluating some drugs already tested for marketing by regulatory agencies, we identified that several of them -including ketanserin tartrate-, are potentially effective for therapeutic use against Chagas disease”.
The scientist assigned to the National System of Researchers (SNI) Level III estimated that the in vivo tests will conclude in two or three years. If the results are favorable, it could go to a clinical stage and the ideal would be to combine these compounds with existing treatments to improve their effect without generating so much adverse damage, as well as reduce costs and administration times -the current ones are prescribed in the period of two to three continuous months.
How is Chagas disease transmitted?
The Chagas disease it is transmitted to humans through the bite of the “kissing bug” infected with Trypanosoma cruzi, it is endemic to Latin America. It consists of three phases of infection, in the first there are symptoms such as fever and sign of romaña.
The indeterminate period usually occurs without symptoms, and the chronic stage manifests after 15 or 20 years of acquiring the infection, which has already generated cardiomyopathies and colon enlargement, among other complications.