Authors: Cerecetto, Hugo; Gonzalez, Mercedes

Source: Mini Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry, Volume 8, Number 13, November 2008 , pp. 1355-1383(29)

Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers

Abstract:

Chagas' disease is the major endemic disease in South and Central America caused by a trypanosomatid parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi). The current treatment relies on two old and nonspecific chemotherapeutic agents, Nifurtimox and Benznidazole. Despite the major advances that have been made in the identification of specific targets that afford selectivity, the drugs used today have serious side effects. Furthermore, differences in drug susceptibility among different T. cruzi isolates have led to varied parasitological cure rates depending on the geographical region. There is, therefore, an urgent need for the development of new antichagasic drugs. In this regard we have spent more than a decade in the search for more effective agents able to compromise the proliferation of T. cruzi. We began our research with our own compounds and then continued with compounds from other researcher groups. We systematically characterized representatives of a wide range of different chemical families. In this review we summarize our ongoing efforts to identify potential anti-T. cruzi agents using our compound-library. It is discussed and presented the structure- activity relationship observed among the different groups of chemical families.

Keywords: Chagas' disease; Trypanosoma cruzi; antichagasic drugs; Nifurtimox; Benznidazole; chemotherapeutic agents

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138955708786369528

Publication date: 2008-11-01

More about this publication?

• The aim of Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry is to publish short reviews on the important recent developments in medicinal chemistry and allied disciplines.
  
  The scope of Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry will cover all areas of medicinal chemistry including developments in rational drug design, synthetic chemistry, bioorganic chemistry, high-throughput screening, combinatorial chemistry, drug targets, and natural product research and structure-activity relationship studies.
  
  Mini-Reviews in Medicinal Chemistry is an essential journal for every medicinal and pharmaceutical chemist who wishes to be kept informed and up-to-date with the latest and most important developments.

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