Browsing by Autor "Irene Losada"

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    A guide for the generation of repositories of clinical samples for research on Chagas disease
    (Public Library of Science, 2024) Nieves Martínez-Peinado; Juan Carlos Gabaldón-Figueira; Roberto Rodrigues Ferreira; M. Carmen Thomas; Manuel Carlos López; Tânia Cremonini de Araújo-Jorge; Belkisyolé Alarcón de Noya; Soledad Berón; Janine M. Ramsey; Irene Losada
    Chagas disease, caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, affects over 6 million people, mainly in Latin America. Two different clinical phases, acute and chronic, are recognised. Currently, 2 anti-parasitic drugs are available to treat the disease (nifurtimox and benznidazole), but diagnostic methods require of a relatively complex infrastructure and trained personnel, limiting its widespread use in endemic areas, and the access of patients to treatment. New diagnostic methods, such as rapid tests (RDTs) to diagnose chronic Chagas disease, or loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), to detect acute infections, represent valuable alternatives, but the parasite's remarkable genetic diversity might make its implementation difficult. Furthermore, determining the efficacy of Chagas disease treatment is complicated, given the slow reversion of serological anti-T. cruzi antibody reactivity, which may even take decades to occur. New biomarkers to evaluate early therapeutic efficacy, as well as diagnostic tests able to detect the wide variety of circulating genotypes, are therefore, urgently required. To carry out studies that address these needs, high-quality and traceable samples from T. cruzi-infected individuals with different geographical backgrounds, along with associated clinical and epidemiological data, are necessary. This work describes the framework for the creation of such repositories, following standardised and uniform protocols, and considering the ethical, technical, and logistic aspects of the process. The manual can be adapted according to the resources of each laboratory, to guarantee that samples are obtained in a reproducible way, favouring the exchange of data among different work groups, and their generalizable evaluation and analysis. The main objective of this is to accelerate the development of new diagnostic methods and the identification of biomarkers for Chagas disease.
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    Analysis of the consultations on the InfoChagas digital platform
    (Public Library of Science, 2026) Elizabeth Posada Diago; Inés María Iglesias Rodríguez; Irene Losada; Edelweiss Aldasoro Irastorza; Pau Rubio Figuerola; Cristina Alonso-Vega; Gascón Joaquim; Mirko Rojas-Cortez; Rafael Herazo; Andrea Marchiol
    InfoChagas serves as an informative, communicative, educational, and supportive resource for individuals affected by or at risk of T. cruzi infection across diverse geographic regions. Given the critical role of IEC strategies and the rise of healthcare technology, digital tools such as InfoChagas is a useful resource to face the existing barriers to healthcare access for the infection and to improve access to quality information and healthcare services.
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    Host-Derived Molecules as Novel Chagas Disease Biomarkers: Hypercoagulability Markers and Extracellular Vesicles
    (Springer Science+Business Media, 2025) Berta Barnadas-Carceller; Dolors Tàssies; Irene Losada; Julio Alonso-Padilla; Joan Carles Reverter; Carmen Fernández-Becerra; María‐Jesús Pinazo
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    Interventions to bring comprehensive care to people with Chagas disease: Experiences in Bolivia, Argentina and Colombia
    (Elsevier BV, 2019) María‐Jesús Pinazo; Ana Cristina Pereiro; Rafael Herazo; Marina Chopita; Colin Forsyth; Mabel Lenardón; Irene Losada; Faustino Torrico; Andrea Marchiol; Mauricio Vera
    Chagas disease (CD) affects over six million people and is a leading cause of heart failure in the Americas. Few are able to access diagnosis and treatment for CD, resulting in a missed opportunity to prevent morbimortality. Integration of testing and treatment with the primary healthcare level is a key step in ensuring affected people receive timely antitrypansomal therapy, which increasing evidence shows can prevent chronic complications from the disease and halt congenital transmission. This article describes three collaborative projects focused on increasing access to testing and treatment for CD through primary healthcare facilities in Bolivia, Argentina, and Colombia.