Current Issue : July - September Volume : 2016 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 4 Articles
A number of cytokines are secreted during HIV infection that enhances both innate and adaptive\nimmune responses. Interferon-//, IL-12, IL-15 and IL-18 have been found to contribute to the\ndevelopment, maturation, differentiation and function of NK and other immune cells. The levels of\nIFN-//, IL-12, IL-15 and IL-18 were compared in the plasma of 90 HIV-1 infected and 90 HIV-2\ninfected subjects by ELISA or Cytometric Beads Array assays. The HIV-infected subjects were\nstratified according to CD4+ T cell counts into three groups: >500, 200 - 500 and <200 cells/ul,\nwith 30 subjects in each group. Cytokine levels were also determined in the plasma of 50 HIV uninfected\nblood bank donors. Among the cytokines tested, IFN- was found to be significantly increased\nin HIV-2 infected compared to HIV-1 infected subjects at high CD4+ T cell counts (p =\n0.001). The levels of IFN- were seen to differ between the two infections in patients from the\ncategory of medium CD4+ T cell counts: this was significantly increased in HIV-2 infected patients\n(p < 0.001) as well as compared to uninfected controls (p = 0.001). The levels of IFN- were similar\nat all the CD4+ T cell categories except for an increase in HIV-2 infected patients at low CD4+ T cell\ncounts (p = 0.02). The levels of these cytokines were similar in all HIV-1 subjects. Also, the level of\nIL-12p70 was similar between the two infections but significantly higher in HIV-2 at low compared\nto medium CD4+ T cells categories (p = 0.047). Similar to IFN- and IL-12p70, the levels of both\nIL-18 and IL-15 were found to be significantly higher in HIV-2 infected patients compared to HIV-1\nat low CD4+ T cell counts (p < 0.05). These data show that there is variability in the levels of innate\ncytokines at different stages of HIV infection but the finding of increased IFN- in HIV-2 infected asymptomatic subjects is consistent with the high innate NK responses previously noted at this\nstage of infection....
Background: The endgame for polio eradication involves coordinated global cessation of oral poliovirus vaccine\n(OPV) with cessation of serotype 2 OPV (OPV2 cessation) implemented in late April and early May 2016 and\ncessation of serotypes 1 and 3 OPV (OPV13 cessation) currently planned for after 2018. The logistics associated with\nglobally switching all use of trivalent OPV (tOPV) to bivalent OPV (bOPV) represent a significant undertaking, which\nmay cause some complications, including delays that lead to different timing of the switch across shared borders.\nMethods: Building on an integrated global model for long-term poliovirus risk management, we consider the expected\nvulnerability of different populations to transmission of OPV2-related polioviruses as a function of time following the\nswitch. We explore the relationship between the net reproduction number (Rn) of OPV2 at the time of the switch and the\ntime until OPV2-related viruses imported from countries still using OPV2 can establish transmission. We also analyze some\nspecific situations modeled after populations at high potential risk of circulating serotype 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus\n(cVDPV2) outbreaks in the event of a non-synchronous switch.\nResults: Well-implemented tOPV immunization activities prior to the tOPV to bOPV switch (i.e., tOPV intensification\nsufficient to prevent the creation of indigenous cVDPV2 outbreaks) lead to sufficient population immunity to transmission\nto cause die-out of any imported OPV2-related viruses for over 6 months after the switch in all populations in the global\nmodel. Higher Rn of OPV2 at the time of the switch reduces the time until imported OPV2-related viruses can establish\ntransmission and increases the time during which indigenous OPV2-related viruses circulate. Modeling specific connected\npopulations suggests a relatively low vulnerability to importations of OPV2-related viruses that could establish\ntransmission in the context of a non-synchronous switch from tOPV to bOPV, unless the gap between switch times\nbecomes very long (>6 months) or a high risk of indigenous cVDPV2s already exists in the importing and/or the\nexporting population.\nConclusions: Short national discrepancies in the timing of the tOPV to bOPV switch will likely not significantly increase\ncVDPV2 risks due to the insurance provided by tOPV intensification efforts, although the goal to coordinate national\nswitches within the globally agreed April 17-May 1, 2016 time window minimized the risks associated with cross-border\nimportations....
Background: Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) control relies on high initiation and completion rates of preventive\ntreatment to preclude progression to tuberculosis disease. Specific interventions may improve initiation and completion\nrates. The objective was to systematically review data on determinants of initiation, adherence and completion of LTBI\ntreatment, and on interventions to improve initiation and completion.\nMethods: A systematic review of the literature (PubMed, Embase) published up to February 2014 was performed.\nRelevant prospective intervention studies were assessed using GRADE.\nResults: Sixty-two articles reporting on determinants of treatment initiation and completion were included and\n23 articles on interventions. Determinants of LTBI treatment completion include shorter treatment regimen\nand directly observed treatment (DOT, positive association), adverse events and alcohol use (negative association), and\nspecific populations with LTBI (both positive and negative associations). A positive effect on completion was noted in\nintervention studies that used short regimens and social interventions; mixed results were found for intervention\nstudies that used DOT or incentives.\nConclusion: LTBI treatment completion can be improved by using shorter regimens and social interventions.\nSpecific needs of the different populations with LTBI should be addressed taking into consideration the setting\nand condition in which the LTBI treatment programme is implemented....
Although the proteomics and its applications in detecting autoimmune diseases are a prominently\ndiscussed issue, this review will focus particularly some prominent aspects regarding clinical utility\nof these techniques in prognosis, diagnosis, and treatment of these diseases. The impact of\nimmunofluorescent techniques, enzyme immunoassays and use of proteomics biomarkers in the\ncharacterization of the auto immune diseases is briefly discussed. The necessity of adopting existing\ntechnologies of protein chemistry, predisposition testing, targeted monitoring and prevention\nof diseases through nutrition coupled with lifestyle changes will be focused as modern diagnostic\ntools in realizing the changeover from isolated medicine to personalized medicine. Use of biological\nfluids, in order to identify low abundance proteins as biomarkers in detecting autoimmune\ndiseases is attempted in the study of serum/plasma proteomics....
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