American-Trypanosomiasis-Chagas-Disease Books

In the late seventies, the publication of Brener and Andrade's first edition of "Trypanosoma cruzi e Doença de Chagas" gifted the latin American scientific community with a detailed account of the Chagas' disease research legacy. However, unfortunately this privilege was not extended to the community of researchers, scholars and students that do not understand Portuguese or spanish. Kevin Tyler and Michael Miles have now taken the initiative to fill up this gap by editing "American Trypanosomiasis", a new volume of the Kluwer's World Class parasites series. Organized in 14 chapters, this compact book covers a wide range of relevant topics, is written by some of the best specialists in the field, and is accessible to the non-specialists. Although there is considerable variation in style among chapters and occasional duplication of content, the text is well-written, and will definitively prove a valuable alternative to the scattered reviews that cover each of the specific themes addressed in this volume. Overall, the reading flows well, the chapters nicely blend with each other. In producing the work, the editors have clearly given preference to quality over matters of style. An obvious deficiency of the book was the inconsistent treatment of bibliography; in some chapters, there was excessive use of review citations, which will not making justice to the authors responsible for original discoveries.

The book starts with an objective account of T. cruzi life cycle and this is followed by a comprehensive review of T. cruzi cell biology. At the core of the book we find excellent chapters covering developments in molecular genetics, biochemistry and molecular biology. After being introduced to the astounding genetic diversity of T. cruzi, we learn how the pathogens' molecular machinery enables their survival in so many distinct environments. Chapters dealing with signaling pathways are particularly instructive, and some of these texts were adequately supported by schematic illustrations-unfortunately used too modestly thorough the book. The knowledge described in the preceding chapters offers a basis to understand the puzzles faced by research in molecular pathogenesis. After learning how parasite activity may be linked to cardiovascular dysfunction, readers are confronted with different perspectives about immunopathogenesis. It is gratifying to know that conflicting views about role of tissue parasitism and autoimmunity are not as sharp as they used to be decades ago. There is now consensus that myocardial parasitism, although scarce, is nonetheless persistent and most likely essential for the development of chronic cardiomyopathy. Moving into clinical research, readers are then provided with detailed review on the present status of chemotherapy. After learning about the success and limitations of current antiparasite drugs, readers will know of the growing list of potent compounds generated by rational drug design. In the last segment of the book, we learn about genetic mechanisms involved in evolution of Trypanosoma cruzi and triatomines and their impact on the epidemiology of Chagas1 disease. The volume ends with a chapter discussing critically alternative strategies for the control of Chagas disease. In conclusion, American Trypanosomiasis is a fundamental english title, which offers a comprehensive vision of current status of Chagas disease research both to specialists and non-specialists.
Julio Scharfstein, Kinetoplastid Biology and Diesase 2003, 2:9

Chagas' disease owes its name to the Brazilian scientist Carlos Chagas, who first studied and described this disease about a century ago and showed that Trypanosoma cruzi was its etiological agent. Many articles have since been published about this disease and its causal agent. T. cruzi has indeed proved to be a useful model for studying basic aspects of modern biology. However, a single source work providing up-to-date information about various aspects of the parasite was lacking until the publication of this 7th Volume of the World Class Parasites Collection.

This book is divided into 14 chapters, each written by an expert in the field concerned, providing the reader with state-of-the art information about each subject, ranging from public health concerns to the genetic manipulation of T. cruzi. This collection of articles, each of which stands alone, begins with a basic description of the lifecycle of T. cruzi. Subsequent chapters deal with various aspects of T. cruzi cell biology, the mechanisms of cell invasion, the immunopathology of Chagas' disease, clinical aspects of the disease and perspectives for the development of new pharmacological treatments, the evolution of T. cruzi and its relationship to the invertebrate triatomine intermediary host and perspectives for controlling T. cruzi transmission by the paratransgenesis of bacteria residing in the digestive tract of triatomines.

However, this work is open to criticism on several points. The major criticism concerns the poor quality of the illustrations, which are of little or no help for those who do not work on the subject of the chapter. Another point of criticism concerns the bibliography at the end of the chapters. Some chapters include vast reference lists whereas in others, assumptions are made without a reference being given, which is of little help to the reader.

However, these faults do not diminish the relevance of this book for those interested in gaining insight into the problems and perspectives of this fascinating field of trypanosomiasis research.
Samuel Goldenberg, Kinetoplastid Biology and Disease 2003, 2:9