Re: Achalasia and Chagas Disease

[Guest guest]

I noticed that one of the causes of Achalasia is Chagas disease.

I don't think that's an accurate statement at all. Chagas is significantly different in that in involves other parts of the body and has a significant mortality rate. Most of the literature I've seen is that Chagas MIMICS or SIMULATES achalasia, but not that it CAUSES achalasia.

Here's info on Chagas (in black) with my commentary (in pink):

Usually a small sore develops at the bite where the parasite enters the body. If this is near the eye, the eyelid becomes swollen (known as Romaña’s sign). I don't know if anyone in the group has experienced this, but I never did to the best of my knowledge.

Within a few days, fever and swollen lymph nodes may develop. This initial acute phase may cause illness and death, especially in young children. I don't know if anyone in the group has experienced this, but I never did.

More commonly, patients enter a symptomless phase lasting several months or years, during which time parasites are invading most organs of the body, often causing heart, intestinal and oesophageal damage and progressive weakness. I've never had problems w/ my other internal organs like this, nor am I experiencing progressive weakness.

In 32% of those infected, fatal damage to the heart and digestive tract occurs during this chronic phase. Once again, it's fair to say that a third of the people in this group do NOT have fatal damage to the heart and digestive tract.

Swallowing difficulty is a symptom in some Chagas patients; it's a symptom in ALL achalasia patients.

Chagas patients have problems in other parts of their bodies along the same lines as their swallowing problems. Many if not most achalasia patients are perfectly healthy in every other way.

To be even more simplistic, think of it like this:

Person A is driving down the road and he swerves and hits a tree. He ends up with a concussion, face lacerations, and a broken leg. He tells the Emergency Room doctor that his head, face, and leg all hurt.

Person B falls down a flight of stairs and breaks his leg, so he also tells the ER doctor that his leg hurts.

If you're the ER doctor, is it an accurate deduction, based only on the symptoms that the patient gave you, that Person B has the same cause for his pain as Person A? If you know that Person A was in a car accident, is it accurate to just assume that Person B must have also been in a car accident b/c he has one of the same symptoms?

If you have other symptoms of Chagas, it's certainly worthwhile to be checked. If you've been in South America (as you have) it's certainly worthwhile to be checked. But if you've never been exposed to Chagas and you have no symptoms of Chagas, there's no reason to be checked for Chagas, and that's why most people in the US aren't screened for it routinely.

I've heard good things about the achalasia docs at Mayo (among a few other places, too) -- hopefully they can get you symptom-free ASAP!Debbi in Michigan

[Guest guest]

tunisrx wrote:

>I was wondering if people with A in the US are routinely screened

>for Chagas. And if not, why not? (there are fifteen million people

>afflicted with Chagas)

I don't think it is routine to screen everyone with achalasia for Chagas.

If it is known that the person has been to Latin America or has had a blood

transfusion from someone who is from there, it would make a lot of sense to

check for it. It also is now known that you can get Chagas from bugs local

to the US, but it is much harder than getting it from the bugs in Latin

America.

>I have spent a lot of time in Latin America between ten and twenty

>years ago, and the onset of my A matches the latency period for

>Chagas.

Let us know what you find out.

notan

[Guest guest]

Debbi Heiser wrote:

I noticed that one of the

causes of Achalasia is Chagas disease.

I don't think that's an

accurate statement at all. Chagas is significantly different in

that in involves other parts of the body and has a significant mortality

rate. Most of the literature I've seen is that Chagas MIMICS or

SIMULATES achalasia, but not that it CAUSES

achalasia.

Chagas is a cause of secondary

achalasia, not primary (idiopathic) achalasia. The secondary achalasia

that is caused by Chagas is

indistinguishable from primary

achalasia and is the result of destruction of the same ganglion cells

that are damaged in primary achalasia. I believe that achalasia secondary

to Chagas is treated the same as primary achalasia. So, for those with

achalasia secondary to Chagas that want information and support for their

achalasia, this group would be a good place to come. For other symptoms

of Chagas they will want to look elsewhere. There are two Chagas

groups, but they have almost no members or messages.

notan

[Guest guest]

> Thank you. You evidently found the same resources that I did

about chagas. With 15 million cases of Chagas, and the very low

incidence rate of idiopathic achalasia, you would think that every

A patient would be tested for chagas. I have not seen anything on

this website that indicates that anyone gets screened for Chagas, so

there must be something else about the symptoms of chronic chagas

that lets the doctors screen out Chagas in achalasia patients

without having to resort to blood tests. (maybe chagas always

affects the heart first, I don't know)

When I get to the states and find some knowlegable doctors who I can

ask, I'll post whatever I find out on this website. In the

meantime, if anyone else can find the answer, I'd appreciate a post.