[Peripheral neurological changes in chronic Chagas' disease]

The authors review the literature about the cronic nervous form of Chagas' disease, directing their attention toward peripheral neurological aspects. Specifically, they analyse the results obtained from a "bind" research realized in a small community in the countryside of the state of Bahia, Brazil, where a high frequency of infection by Trypanosoma cruzi is reported. From 99 individuals examined, 50 showed a positive sorological test for Chagas' disease. The most frequent neurological findings in the total of 99 individuals were sensory loss and impairment of the deep reflexes. Among those with abolition of deep reflexes, there were 18 cases carrying a positive sorology for Chagas' disease, being that 15 from these 18 cases additionally presented a mild sensory deficit, characterizing a polyneuritic syndrome. In conclusion, they suggest that there is a neuritic form, as subdivision of a nervous form of Chagas' disease, particularly identified as a mixed polyneuritis.