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TL;DR
This pilot cross-sectional study analyzed the gut microbiota of 80 adults with chronic Chagas disease and found that the disease explained 5% of the observed variability in microbiota structure, with enrichment of specific bacterial genera.
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases · 17 authors, 11 centres
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This pilot cross-sectional study analyzed the gut microbiota of 80 adults with chronic Chagas disease and found that the disease explained 5% of the observed variability in microbiota structure, with enrichment of specific bacterial genera.
This pilot prospective cross-sectional study analyzed stool samples from 80 participants (29 with indeterminate Chagas disease, 16 with cardiac, 15 with digestive involvement, and 20 controls) using whole genome sequencing and dietary analysis. The central result was that the presence of Chagas disease explained 5% of the observed microbiota variability, with consistent enrichment of Parabacteroides spp in all Chagas patients and Prevotella spp specifically in those with digestive involvement. The study found no substantial differences in dietary habits between groups and noted that sex, disease type, and previous benznidazole treatment did not confound the microbiota structure. Limitations include the cross-sectional design preventing causal inference and a relatively small sample size. The findings suggest Chagas disease has a detectable effect on gut microbiota structure, which could be a target for future research to improve prognosis.