Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2018 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
Finding new adjuvants is an integrated component of the efforts in developing an effective HIV-1 vaccine. Compared\nwith traditional adjuvants, a modern adjuvant in the context of HIV-1 prevention would elicit a durable and potent\nmemory response from B cells, CD8+ T cells, and NK cells but avoid overstimulation of HIV-1 susceptible CD4+ T cells,\nespecially at genital and rectal mucosa, the main portals for HIV-1 transmission. We briefly review recent advances in\nthe studies of such potential targeted adjuvants, focusing on three classes of molecules that we study: TNFSF molecules,\nTLRs agonists, and NODs agonists...
Despite efforts to raise awareness and develop guidelines for care of individuals with dementia, reports of poor detection and\ninadequate management persist. This has led to a call formore identification of people with dementia, that is, screening individuals\nwhomay or may not complain of symptoms of dementia in both acute settings and primary care.The following should be considered\nbefore recommending screening for dementia among individuals in the general population. Dementia Tests. Lowprevalence reduces\npositive predictive value of tests and screening tests will miss people who have dementia and identify people who do not have\ndementia in substantial numbers. Clinical Issues. The clinical course of dementia has not yet been shown to be amenable to\nintervention. Misdiagnosis and overdiagnosis can have significant long-term effects including stigmatization, loss of employment,\nand autonomy. Economic Issues. Health systems do not have the capacity to respond to increased demand resulting fromscreening.\nIn conclusion, at present attention to life-course risk reduction and support in the community for frail and cognitively impaired\nolder adults is a better use of limited healthcare resources than introduction of unevaluated dementia screening programs....
Background. HIV infection and long-term HAART use are associated with metabolic and morphological changes. We assessed\nprevalence, types, and risk factors associated with lipodystrophy among HIV-infected adults attending CTC in Dar es\nSalaam, Tanzania. Methods. Analysis included 466 HIV-infected patients. Study protocol involved administration of structured\nquestionnaire to collect sociodemographic and clinical information. Diagnosis of lipodystrophy was based on physician clinical\nassessment. Results. Lipodystrophy was present in 95 (20.4%) of the study participants, with lipoatrophy being the most common\n(49.5%) followed by mixed lipodystrophy (37.9%), and lipohypertrophy was the least prevalent (12.6%). Male gender, older age,\nlong duration on HAART, and use of Stavudine containing regimen were associated with lipodystrophy (all ...
Background. Even though the benefit of antiretroviral therapy (ART) is well established, there is a regional variation in the extent\nof its benefit. The aim of this review is to highlight mortality and its predictors in Ethiopian adult HIV patients who were on\nART. Methods. Relevant articles were searched on PubMed and Google Scholar databases. The search terms used in different\ncombinations were predictor/determinant/factors, mortality/death/survival, HIV, ART/HAART, and Ethiopia. Result. 5ââ?¬â??40.8% of\nthe patients died during the follow-up period. More than half (50ââ?¬â??68.8%) of the deaths occurred within 6 months of initiating\nART. Advanced stage disease (stage III and stage IV), nonworking functional status (bedridden and ambulatory), low baseline\nCD4 count, low baseline hemoglobin level, TB coinfection, lower baseline weight, and poor treatment adherence were commonly\nidentified as predictors of death in HIV patients. Conclusion. 5ââ?¬â??40.8% of HIV patients in Ethiopia die in 2ââ?¬â??5 years of initiating\nantiretroviral treatment. Most of the deaths in HIV patients occur early in the course of treatment. Special emphasis should be\ngiven for patients with advanced stage disease, nonworking functional status, low baseline CD4 count, low baseline hemoglobin\nlevel, TB coinfection, lower baseline weight, and poor treatment adherence....
Background: Plant extracts are sources of valuable compounds with biological activity, especially for the antiproliferative\nactivity against pathogens or tumor cells. Myricetin is a flavonoid found in several plants that has been\ndescribed as an inhibitor of Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) through its action against the HIV reverse\ntranscriptase, but myricetin derivatives have not been fully studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-\nHIV-1 activity of glycosylated metabolites obtained from Marcetia taxifolia and derived from myricetin: myricetin\nrhamnoside and myricetin 3-(6-rhamnosylgalactoside).\nMethods: Compounds were obtained from organic extracts by maceration of aerial parts of M. taxifolia. All biological\nassays were performed in the MT4 cell line. Antiviral activity was measured as inhibition of p24 and reverse transcriptase\nwith a fluorescent assay.\nResults: Both flavonoids have antiviral activity in vitro, with an EC50 of 120 �¼M for myricetin 3-rhamnoside (MR) and\n45 �¼M for myricetin 3-(6-rhamnosylgalactoside) (MRG), both significantly lower than the EC50 of myricetin (230 �¼M).\nAlthough both compounds inhibited the reverse transcriptase activity, with an IC50 of 10.6 �¼M for MR and 13.8 �¼M for\nMRG, myricetin was the most potent, with an IC50 of 7.6 �¼M, and an inhibition greater than 80%. Molecular docking\napproach showed correlation between the free energy of binding with the assays of enzyme inhibition.\nConclusions: The results suggest that glycosylated moiety might enhance the anti-HIV-1 activity of myricetin, probably\nby favoring the internalization of the flavonoid into the cell. The inhibition of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase is\nlikely responsible for the antiviral activity....
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