HIV-positive Persons Research Articles

The relevance of ultradeep sequencing for low HIV-1 viral loads and proviruses in the clinical setting.

Improving the therapeutic management of HIV-positive persons is a major public health issue and includes better detection of drug resistance mutations (DRMs). The aim of this study was (i) to explore DRMs in HIV-1-positive persons presenting a blood viral load (VL) < 1000 genomes copies (gc)/mL, including the analyze of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and HIV-DNA from peripheral blood mononuclear cells using ultradeep sequencing (UDS) and (ii), to evaluate how these DRMs could influence the clinical practices. For each patient (n = 12), including five low-VL patients (i.e., <1000 gc/mL), HIV-1 UDS targeting the protease, reverse transcriptase and integrase genes was performed on plasma, proviral DNA, and CSF when available. Sequencing discordances or failures were mostly found in samples from low-VL patients. A 5% UDS cut-off allowed to increase the sensitivity to detect DRMs in different compartments, excepted in CSF. Patients with the highest viral quasispecies heterogeneity were naïve of treatment or presented a medical history suggesting low selection pressure or virological failures. When analyzing compartmentalization and following-up patients: low-frequency variants (LFVs) were responsible for 47% (n = 8) and 76% (n = 13) of changes in drug resistance interpretation, respectively. In such cases, we conclude that UDS is a robust technique, which still could be improved by increase the RNA and/or DNA extraction in low-VL samples to detect LFVs. Further studies are needed to define the impact of LFVs on antiretroviral treatments. At last, when considering a DRM, the use of mutational load would probably be more suitable than frequencies.

Insights into changing patterns of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in North India

PurposeTuberculosis is one of the dreadful infections and India contributes to substantial burden of TB cases globally. Though majority of cases are pulmonary, extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPTB) share significant burden, more in HIV-positive persons. Despite the striking burden, very few studies have been conducted in India and present study was undertaken to determine trends of EPTB at our tertiary care centre. MethodsThis was a retrospective study conducted over a period of 4 years 3 months. Diagnosis of EPTB was based on suspected clinical features, with positive micobiological evidence with cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) with/without microscopy. ResultsA total of 10,560 samples (pulmonary and extra-pulmonary) were received during the study period, of which 3972 were extrapulmonary. Of these, a total of 18% were noted to be positive for EPTB. Trend of positivity revealed highest burden in 2018 and a decline was noted over the years, however, rise in cases was noted in 2022. Pleural, meningitis, musculoskeletal, peritoneal and pericardial TB was more common in males, while lymphadenitis was more common in females (p value: <0.0001). Pleural TB (31%) was the most common presentation, followed by lymphadenitis. A gradual decline in lymphadenitis was noted with significantly increasing trend only for musculoskeletal TB. Rifampicin resistance was detected in 7.45% of positive samples, of which the maximum rate of resistance was noted in lymph node aspirates (11.11%), followed by musculoskeletal and pleural samples. ConclusionThe present study showed a gradual decline in positivity of EPTB cases over the years. Younger productive age group with more propensity to transmit infection was the most commonly affected, with pleural TB as the most common presentation. Rare presentations of EPTB also contributed major share. Higher rates of resistance underline requisite to strengthen ongoing programs, to achieve the End TB strategy by 2025.

Effectiveness of Outreach Clinical Mentoring on Retention in Care and Viral Suppression among HIV Positive Young Persons on Art in North Central Nigeria

Introduction Sexual and reproductive health challenges vis-à-vis Human immunodeficiency virus/Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, constitute a complex phenomenon in young persons. These health complexes have been shown to adversely affect the disclosure of their positive status, their adherence to medications or retention in care and overall quality of life. This study was meant to determine the effectiveness of deliberate clinical mentoring on retention in care, measured by the rate of interruption in treatment and viral suppression among young persons on anti-retroviral therapy.  Methods This study employed a facility-based quasi- experimental design. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select study participants. The three senatorial zones of Nasarawa state were selected through a purposive sampling method at stage one. One Local Government Area was selected from each of the three senatorial zones through simple random sampling technique at stage two. Five health care facilities were randomly selected from each of the three selected Local Government Areas through balloting at stage three. Baseline data was collected at the beginning of the study; mid-term data mid- way into the study and post-intervention data was collected at the end of the study. The respondents/mentees were mentored for a period of eight months.  Results Difference in means of interruption in treatment rates at baseline and at midterm, which is an estimate of the amount by which intervention changed the outcome was – 0.69605 with a p-value of 0.359. Mean differences in interruption in treatment rates pre- and post-intervention was 0.7333 with a p-value of 0.033, which was statistically significant. In a similar vein, mean differences in viral suppression rates at start of study and mid-term on the one hand, and then pre- and post-intervention on the other hand, were respectively 4.80000 and 3.40000. The corresponding p-values were 0.235 and 0.174, which were not statistically significant.  Conclusion This study showed 100% retention among young persons on anti-retroviral therapy following 8 months of meticulous outreach clinical mentoring. The study also showed improvements in viral suppression rates, but the extent statistically, was not significant. Clinical mentoring should therefore, be prioritized and strengthened for better clinical care outcomes in positive young persons on anti retroviral therapy.

Deconstructing hegemonic masculinities and promoting prevention altruism and antiretroviral therapy adherence among couples

Through the use of a netnography research design, this research sets out to explore plausible strategies that can be adopted for adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for the management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The research posits that the successful management of HIV and AIDS is hindered by hegemonic masculinities, which accord power to men and subordinate women. Additionally, a number of societal beliefs linked with sociocultural masculine attitudes become repressive to men in terms of their health-seeking behaviour. This results in their disinclination towards disclosure of their HIV status and access to medicinal usage, which consequently affects the health and well-being of their female counterparts. This research acknowledges the importance of ART in managing HIV and AIDS. For HIV-positive persons, ART reduces the viral load and prolongs the timeframe between a diagnosis of the HIV and the AIDS. It prolongs the survival chances of the infected person. In order to promote adherence to ART and to minimise the risk of HIV infection for women, the research advocates for the promotion of prevention altruism as a mechanism for deconstructing hegemonic masculinities to enable the effective management of HIV and AIDS.Contribution: This research recognises the negative interface between hegemonic masculinities and adherence to ART. Hence, the research suggests the practice of prevention altruism for promoting adherence to ART as well as the effective management of HIV and AIDS in a bid to prolong longevity and to promote Sustainable Development Goal 3.

Prevalence and determinants of depression among patients attending adult HIV clinic of University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo, Southern Nigeria

Background: Mental health challenges particularly depression is common among people living with HIV/AIDS and has been largely neglected. This is of great concern because depression is associated with high morbidity among its sufferers. An assessment of depression among PLWHA and its predictors will enhance their quality of life and improve their health outcomes. Aim: To determine the prevalence and determinants of depression among patients attending the adult HIV clinic in University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo, Nigeria. Method: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at the adult HIV outpatient clinic of University of Uyo Teaching Hospital Uyo. A total of three hundred and fifty one eligible respondents were recruited over three months. Their levels of perceived social support, depression, HIV stigma and substance abuse were assessed using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ 9), Internalized AIDS-related Stigma Scale and CAGE questionnaire respectively. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 39.8 ± 10.7 years. Two hundred and sixty six (75.8%) of the respondents were females, while eighty five (24.2%) were males. The overall prevalence of depression was 10%. Majority of respondents had disclosed their status and were experiencing HIV stigmatization representing 84.6% and 95.4% respectively. Most of the respondents (65.8%) had low perceived social support. Depression was found to be statistically associated with unskilled workers (χ2 = 13.08, p = 0.008), unmarried respondents (χ2 = 8.45, p = 0.03), low perceived social support (χ2 = 7.76, p = 0.02), shorter duration of ART use (χ2 = 8.41, p = 0.04), adverse life events (χ2 = 4.05, p = 0.04) and increasing levels of HIV stigma (χ2 = 7.66, p = 0.02) among the study participants. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the prevalence of depression in PLWHA was high. Therefore, the screening and prompt treatment of depression in HIV positive persons should be inculcated into their management plan. Furthermore, policies should be made to minimize discrimination and stigmatization of PLWHA in the communities and healthcare systems. Finally, the relevant stakeholders should work in unison to improve the social welfare conditions of HIV infected persons.

Renal Transplantation in HIV-positive and HIV-negative People With Advanced Stages of Kidney Disease: Equity in Transplantation.

People with HIV are at a greater risk of end-stage kidney disease than the general population. Considering the risk of death after end-stage kidney disease, access to renal transplantation in people with HIV is critically important. We included all adult patients on chronic dialysis in Ontario, Canada, between 1 April 2007 and 31 December 2020. We determined the probability of kidney transplantation with competing risk of death over time since the initiation of dialysis by calculating the adjusted subdistribution hazard ratios (sdHR; 95% confidence interval [CI]). We also compared long-term renal allograft and posttransplant mortality outcomes between HIV-negative and HIV-positive persons. Of 40 686 people (median age, 68 years; interquartile range, 57-77; 38.4% women), 173 were HIV-positive and 40 513 were HIV-negative. The incidence of kidney transplantation in HIV-negative and HIV-positive patients was 40.5 (95% CI, 39.4-41.6)/1000 person-years and 35.0 (95% CI, 22.8-53.7)/1000 person-years, respectively (P = .51). Considering the competing risk of death, HIV-positive people had a significantly lower chance of receiving kidney transplants than HIV-negative people (sdHR, 0.46 [95% CI, .30-.70]). The long-term allograft failure risk was not significantly different between HIV-negative and HIV-positive people, considering the competing risk of posttransplant death (sdHR, 1.71 [95% CI, .46-6.35]). Although the incidence and crude probability of kidney transplantation were similar among HIV-negative and HIV-positive persons in this cohort, those with HIV had a significantly lower likelihood of kidney transplantation than those without HIV. Having HIV was not significantly associated with a poor long-term allograft outcome compared with patients without HIV.

Breakthrough cases of mpox: One-dose vaccination is associated with milder clinical manifestations

BackgroundVery few studies have investigated the effectiveness of vaccination in decreasing the severity of breakthrough mpox. Our goal was to estimate the strength of the associations between recent mpox vaccination with MVA-BN and various clinical manifestations of the disease. MethodsTelephone interviews using standardized questionnaires, upon notification and 28 days later, of the 403 persons with mpox reported to Montreal Public Health in 2022. MVA-BN vaccination data were obtained from the provincial immunization registry. The main outcomes were numbers of skin lesions and body sites affected, other clinical manifestations (OCM) compatible with mpox, complications, and hospitalization. Findings155 persons with mpox (39% of 403) had received 1 dose of vaccine at least 14 days before symptom onset. One-dose vaccination, adjusting for age and HIV status, was significantly associated with fewer lesions, sites affected with lesions, and OCMs. HIV-positive persons with breakthrough mpox reported significantly more lesions, sites affected, and OCMs at initial interview, than HIV-negative ones. However, vaccination was associated with a lower risk of all outcomes to the same degree irrespective of HIV status. InterpretationOne dose of MVA-BN vaccine was about 60% effective in decreasing the frequency and extent of clinical manifestations, among both HIV-positive and HIV-negative persons with breakthrough mpox. Beyond preventing infection, mpox vaccination can be promoted to reduce clinical manifestations in persons at risk for mpox, even if HIV+ . FundingThis work used data obtained as part of Montreal Public Health’s 2022 mpox outbreak response and received no external funding.

Prevalence and Determinants of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Tuberculosis Co-Infection at Kampala International University Teaching Hospital

Worldwide, tuberculosis (TB) was one of the top 10 causes of death, and the leading cause from a single infectious agent above HIV/AIDS. Millions of people continue to fall sick with the disease each year. Not less than one-third of people living with HIV are also infected with TB. At autopsy, studies have found that 30 – 50% of patients have evidence of TB. By the year 2013, about a quarter of all TB deaths occurred in HIV-positive persons and TB was the leading cause of death in those that had HIV. In sub-Saharan Africa, about 41% of HIV patients have TB. TB incidence still being high, especially among the HIV infected and the prevalence of TB/HIV co-infection was largely unknown, particularly in developing countries, including Uganda all but fuels the need for this study. To assess the prevalence and determinants of TB-HIV co-infection among HIV-positive patients attended at KIUTH. A review of the data study that included 500 patient records was included for this study. 37 out of 500 patient records recorded TB-HIV coinfection. This made a prevalence of 7.4%. Sex, marital status, employment status, household income, residence and history of alcohol or smoking were found significant whereas age (p-value: 0.5621) and education (pvalue: 0.08180) were found to be insignificant. The prevalence of HIV-TB coinfection was high with sex, patients, marital status, employment status, household income, residence and history of alcohol or smoking found to be significant. In contrast, age and education were found to be insignificant determinants. TB-HIV coinfection was found to have a poorer patient outcome with increased mortality among those who were TB-HIV co-infected. Awareness-creation on the adverse effects of TB-HIV coinfection needs to be up-scaled. Keywords: Tuberculosis, HIV-positive, TB-HIV co-infection, Marital status, sub-Saharan Africa

Immunological aspects of vaccination in HIV-infected patients

Until recently, HIV infection does not lose its relevance. In 2022, 630 000 people died and 1.3 million people became infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV-positive persons develop more infectious diseases than healthy people do; the causative agents are mainly opportunistic microorganisms. Streptococcus pneumoniae is the main causative agent of infection in the lungs in HIV-infected persons. In order to prevent the development of severe pneumococcal infections and to overcome antibiotic resistance, vaccines have been developed. There are polysaccharide (PPV) and conjugate (PCV) vaccines. According to clinical recommendations, vaccination of previously unvaccinated HIV-infected patients is carried out regardless of T-helper cell level. However, no data were found on the effect of PCV13 on immunological memory cells. The purpose of this study is to assess an effect of PCV13 vaccination on the immune system in HIV-infected subjects.&#x0D; Materials and methods. The study included 200 patients with HIV infection, which were divided into two groups: I — received a dose of PCV13 (n = 100) and control group (n = 100). During the first visit, immunological and microbiological studies were carried out. On the second visit, a PCV13 was injected into the deltoid muscle. The third visit was made a year later, where immunological and microbiological studies were repeated. Participants were divided into 4 subgroups depending on CD4+ T cell level. The microbial study was done using a swab collected from the back of the throat.&#x0D; Results. During the immunological examination at visit 1, abnormalities were detected in all examined populations and immune cell subsets. At 12 months post-vaccination, the median levels of CD3+CD4+ and CD45RO+ T lymphocytes in the immunized group were higher than pre-vaccination levels compared to control group, in which the values changed insignificantly. Our data confirm the immunological effectiveness of PCV13 administration in HIV-infected patients. In patients with peripheral blood CD19+ lymphocyte deficiency, had increased microbial detection rate (p = 0.003).&#x0D; Conclusion. As a result, due to the high risk of pneumococcal pneumonia, HIV-infected patients should be immunized with a 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Influence of Knowledge of Stigmatization and Discriminatory Practices against HIV-Positive Persons on Pregnant Women's HIV Testing in Nigeria.

Stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes have been reported as factors militating against the control of the spread of HIV infection and ending the HIV epidemic. Women of reproductive age identified as a vulnerable group to HIV infection require comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention to prevent contracting HIV infection. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the association between reproductive-age women's comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention and their stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes toward individuals living with HIV/AIDS. Secondary data from the 2018 Nigerian Demographic and Health Survey was used for this study. We used in each analysis a weighted sample of women of reproductive age with complete data on the comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention and stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes towards persons living with HIV/AIDS. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis was done to predict the effects of the comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention of women of reproductive age on their stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes toward persons living with HIV/AIDS. Predictor variables with a p-value of ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant determinants of HIV/AIDS stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes. The number of respondents with HIV/AIDS stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes was 22821 (77.0%). The multivariable regression models showed that women with an average household wealth index, of Islamic faith, and no access to media were more likely to have positive attitudes toward persons living with HIV at Alpha = .05. Having comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention by women of reproductive age did not affect their HIV stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes towards individuals living with HIV/AIDS differently when compared to those without comprehensive knowledge. The findings that women with no access to media and those with an average household wealth index were more likely to have a positive attitude towards persons living with HIV/AIDS than those with access to media and a rich household wealth index, respectively, require further validation using primary data.

Negative Lifestyle Factors Specific to Aging Persons Living with HIV and Multimorbidity.

The primary goal of medical care during the pre-antiretroviral therapy (ART) era was to keep persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) alive, whereas since the advent of ART, the treatment objective has shifted to decreasing viral loads and infectiousness while increasing CD4+ T-cell counts and longevity. The health crisis, however, is in preventing and managing multimorbidity (ie, type 2 diabetes), which develops at a more accelerated or accentuated pace among aging persons living with HIV. Relative to the general population and age-matched uninfected adults, it may be more difficult for aging HIV-positive persons who also suffer from multimorbidity to improve negative lifestyle factors to the extent that their behaviors could support the prevention and management of diseases. With recommendations and a viable solution, this article explores the impact of negative lifestyle factors (ie, poor mental health, suboptimal nutrition, physical inactivity, alcohol use) on the health of aging individuals living with HIV.

Nutritional outcomes of therapeutic feeding program and its predictors among undernourished adult HIV positive patients at healthcare facilities of West Guji Zone, Southern Ethiopia: A retrospective cohort study.

For those living with HIV/AIDS, malnutrition is a significant issue everywhere, but it is particularly prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa. A nutritional support program is becoming a more and more common strategy to prevent malnutrition in HIV-positive persons. Thus, this study aimed to assess nutritional treatment outcomes and their predictors among adult HIV-positive undernourished individuals in West Guji Zone healthcare facilities. A facility-based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 348 randomly selected adult HIV- positive patients in the West Guji Zone healthcare facilities between January 2018 and December 2022. Data were collected using the data extraction tool. Entered into Epi Data version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test were used to predict the time to recovery and to compare survival curves across categorical variables. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was fitted to identify an independent predictor of the recovery rate. Statistical significance was declared at a p-value of < 0.05. In the final analysis 348 undernourished HIV-positive persons were included. Based on preset exit criteria, approximately 198, 56.9% of patients enrolled in the RUTF program were able to recovered, with an incidence of 9.83 (95% CI: 3.12, 13.44) per 100 person-month observations. Being divorced (AHR = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.06, 0.69) and being in the WHO advanced stage (AHR = 0.42; 95% CI: 0.23, 0.79) was a negative predictor. Being in the age range of 18-29 and 30-39 and having a working functional status (AHR = 2; 95% CI: 1.25, 3.23) were positive predictors. Nutritional recovery in this study lower than WHO Sphere requirements. Age between 18 and 39 and working functional status were good indicators of nutritional recovery, whereas advanced WHO clinical stage and divorced marital status were negative predictors.

Piloting an integrated HIV, HCV and syphilis testing approach in community-based voluntary counselling and testing services in Slovakia.

Aim of the pilot was to increase HIV/HCV/syphilis testing and linkage to care of newly diagnosed persons, improve data collection and transfer using standard data collection tools in CBVCT services. Integrated anonymous voluntary testing from blood for HIV, HCV and syphilis was realised using rapid tests in the period of 6 months (03/2019-08/2019). Participants with reactive results were advised to see a specialist for confirmatory testing and/or treatment. A total of 675 clients were tested for HIV, 410 for HCV, and 457 for syphilis. Participants' median age ranged from 24 to 35.6 (IQR: 24), 75.3% of them were men, 23.7% were women, and 0.6% identified as transgender. In terms of groups at risk 48.9 % of 675 clients were men who have sex with men (MSM), 0.3 % sex workers (SW), 9.0 % people who inject drugs (PWID), 2.4 % migrants (Mi) and the rest of clients (8.3 %) belonged to groups at combined risk. Pilot revealed HIV, HCV and T. pallidum infections in 0.4 %,2.4 % and 1.8 % of clients, respectively. Just 2 clients, confirmed HIV-positive, were linked to care. The highest prevalence of HIV (4.2 %), HCV (30.8 %) and syphilis (7.1 %) was found among MSM/Mi, PWID and SW/PWID, respectively. Condomless intercourse with SW, PWID, MSM and HIV-positive person in the last 12 months was reported by 5/92, 41/82, 3/78 and 0/88 of responding clients, respectively. Core indicators were included in the yearly national epidemiological report. Pilot revealed the need to support integrated CBVCT to overcome barriers in confirmatory testing and linkage to care and to integrate core data of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) testing framework at CBVCT services into a national surveillance and M&E systems in Slovakia.

Characteristics of TPT initiation and completion among people living with HIV.

TB preventive treatment (TPT) reduces morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Despite the successful scale-up of TPT in Malawi, monitoring and evaluation have been suboptimal. We utilized the Malawi Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment (MPHIA) 2020-2021 survey data to estimate TPT uptake and completion among self-reported HIV-positive persons. We estimated the proportion of HIV-positive respondents who had ever undergone TPT, and determined the percentage of those currently on TPT who had completed more than 6 months of treatment. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression were performed to calculate the odds ratios for factors associated with ever-taking TPT. All variables were self-reported, and the analysis was weighted and accounted for in the survey design. Of the HIV+ respondents, 38.8% (95% CI 36.4-41.3) had ever taken TPT. The adjusted odds of ever taking TPT were 8.0 and 5.2 times as high in the Central and Southern regions, respectively, compared to the Northern region; 1.9 times higher among those in the highest wealth quintile, and 2.1 times higher for those on antiretroviral therapy >10 years. Of those currently taking TPT, 56.2% completed >6 months of TPT. These results suggest low TPT uptake and >6 months' completion rates among self-reported HIV+ persons. Initiatives to create demand and strengthen adherence would improve TPT uptake.

Facilitating the access to HIV testing at lower costs: "To the laboratory without prescription" (ALSO), a pilot intervention to expand HIV testing through medical laboratories in France.

A pilot HIV testing programme, Au Labo sans Ordo (ALSO; "to the laboratory without prescription") was implemented in two French Fast-Track Cities Initiative areas from 07/2019 to 12/2020. ALSO aimed to remove barriers to HIV testing by providing free testing with widespread access through all laboratories, extended opening hours, and no prescription requirements. Assessing the ALSO programme in terms of testing activity, user characteristics, and costs, compared to other HIV testing offers. Laboratories and STI clinics reported the monthly numbers of tests performed and positive tests. Two short surveys were carried out 12 months apart in people who sought HIV testing. In each offer, the mean costs of HIV testing have been estimated according to negative or positive results using a microcosting approach. During the study period, 214/264 laboratories reported performing 38,941 ALSO tests that accounted for 7.2% of laboratory HIV testing activity. Positivity rates of ALSO and prescribed tests were similar (2.2/1000) but lower than that in STI clinics (6.0/1000). Heterosexual men, and individuals with multiple sexual partners, poor health insurance and few visits to GPs were more likely to use the ALSO offer than tests upon prescription. Compared to ALSO, STI clinic users were younger, more exposed to HIV and with a less favourable socio-economic situation. ALSO had low costs: €13 for a negative test, €163 for a positive test and €5,388 to identify an HIV-positive person (versus €9,068 in STI clinics and €20,126 with prescribed tests). ALSO has attracted users less likely to visit STI clinics or to seek a prescribed test, particularly heterosexual men. Activities, user profiles and costs suggested the complementarity of the HIV testing offers and the relevance of making them coexist. French health authorities have decided to maintain and expand this programme to complement existing HIV testing offers.

Measuring the knowledge and attitudes of physicians towards patients with HIV/AIDS: study of Anatolian group

PurposeThis paper aims to determine the knowledge and attitudes of the physicians regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), to emphasize that these patients exist and they will exist in the future and to raise awareness so as to prevent that their rights to treatment are revoked.Design/methodology/approachThe survey was conducted via a link sent through an online system. Random physicians from 81 cities of the country were invited to the survey. The survey has 41 questions regarding knowledge and attitudes in total, including epidemiological information such as age, gender and title.FindingsA total of 3,107 physicians has voluntarily participated in the study. In total, 2,195 (70.7%) are internal physicians and 912 (29.3%) are surgical physicians among the participant physicians. In total, 1,452 (46.7%) of the participants are specialist physicians, 608 (19.6%) of the participants are practising physician and the rest of it is physician assistants, academicians and dentists, respectively.Originality/valueIn this study, it has been found out that the physicians have a lack of knowledge on HIV/AIDS and they adopt a discriminatory attitude towards HIV-positive persons. HIV-positive patients who are exposed to discrimination and scared of being uncovered refrain from applying to hospitals for treatment, which puts public health into jeopardy due to the high viral load and these patients are faced with difficulties in coping with both medical and emotional load of the disease.

Risk of Multiple Sclerosis in People Living with HIV: An International Cohort Study.

There has been interest in a possible negative association between HIV and multiple sclerosis (MS). We aimed to compare the risk of MS in a cohort of individuals living with HIV to that in the general population. Population-based health data were accessed for 2 cohorts of HIV-positive persons from Sweden and British Columbia, Canada. Incident MS was identified using MS registries or a validated algorithm applied to administrative data. Individuals with HIV were followed from 1 year after the first clinical evidence of HIV or the first date of complete administrative health data (Canada = April 1, 1992 and Sweden = January 1, 2001) until the earliest of incident MS, emigration, death, or study end (Canada = March 31, 2020 and Sweden = December 31, 2018). The observed MS incidence rate in the HIV-positive cohort was compared to the expected age-, sex-, calendar year-, income-specific, and region of birth-specific rates in a randomly selected sample of >20% of each general population. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) for MS following the first antiretroviral therapy exposure ("ART-exposed") was also calculated. The combined Sweden-Canada cohort included 29,163 (75% men) HIV-positive persons. During 242,248 person-years of follow-up, 14 incident MS cases were observed in the HIV-positive cohort, whereas 26.19 cases were expected. The SIR for MS in the HIV-positive population was 0.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.32-0.90). The SIR for MS following the first ART exposure was 0.55 (95% CI = 0.31-0.96). This international population-based study demonstrated a lower risk of MS among HIV-positive individuals, and HIV-positive ART-exposed individuals. These findings provide support for further exploration into the relationship among HIV, ART, and MS. ANN NEUROL 2024;95:487-494.

Adherence determination using urine-tenofovir point-of-care testing and pharmacy refill records: A cross-sectional study.

Pharmacy refill records (PRR), are an accessible strategy for estimating adherence in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, the low-cost urine-tenofovir point-of-care test opens up the possibility of an objective metric of adherence that is scalable to LMICs. This study compared adherence to tenofovir-based regimens using urine-tenofovir point-of-care (POC) test with pharmacy refill records in a Nigerian population of HIV-positive persons. This was a cross-sectional study among 94 HIV-positive adults, which was conducted from June to August 2021, in a large outpatient clinic in Lagos, Nigeria. Adherence to pharmacy appointments was automatically calculated using a computerized pharmacy appointment system (FileMaker Pro™). Urine drops on the urine-tenofovir POC test strip developed 2 lines for a negative test (tenofovir absent) and one line for a positive test. Fisher's exact test was used to examine the association between pharmacy refill record and urine-tenofovir point-of-care test. Logistic regression was performed to predict viral suppression (<1000 copies/mL, based on WHO recommendations) using both methods of adherence determination. A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of the association between specificity and sensitivity was generated to evaluate the predictive value of adherence determined using pharmacy-refill record and urine-tenofovir point-of-care test in forecasting viral suppression. The statistical significance level was set at 0.05. Fisher's exact test showed no statistically significant difference in adherence using urine-tenofovir point-of-care test or pharmacy refill record. The logistic regression model showed that an increase in pharmacy-refill record of ≥ 95% was associated with viral suppression (P = .019). From the ROC curve, the sensitivity was same at 95.5% for both methods, but the specificity of the urine-tenofovir point-of-care test was greater (96.6% vs 95.5%) than pharmacy refill record (P = .837). Urine-tenofovir point-of-care test provided equivalent adherence data to pharmacy refill data.

HIV cure: Are we going to make history?

At present, combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) is the mainstay for the treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS. cART can suppress the viral load to a minimal level; however, the possibility of the emergence of full-blown AIDS is always there. In the latter part of the first decade of the 21st century, an HIV-positive person received stem cell transplantation (SCT) for treatment of his haematological malignancy. The patient was able to achieve remission of the haematological condition as well as of HIV following SCT. Thorough investigations of various samples including blood and biopsy could not detect the virus in the person's body. The person was declared to be the first cured case of HIV. Over the next decade, a few more similar cases were observed and have recently been declared cured of the infection. A comprehensive search was performed in PubMed, Cochrane library and Google Scholar. Four such additional cases were found in literature. These cases all share a common proposed mechanism for the HIV cure, that is, transplantation of stem cells from donors carrying a homozygous mutation in a gene encoding for CCR5 (receptor utilized by HIV for entry into the host cell), denoted as CCR5△32. This mutation makes the host immune cells devoid of CCR5, causing the host to acquire resistance against HIV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review to look at relevant and updated information of all cured cases of HIV as well as the related landmarks in history and discusses the underlying mechanism(s).

Parietal resting-state EEG alpha source connectivity is associated with subcortical white matter lesions in HIV-positive people

ObjectiveParietal resting-state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) alpha (8–10 Hz) source connectivity is abnormal in HIV-positive persons. Here we tested whether this abnormality may be associated with subcortical white matter vascular lesions in the cerebral hemispheres. MethodsClinical, rsEEG, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datasets in 38 HIV-positive persons and clinical and rsEEG datasets in 13 healthy controls were analyzed. Radiologists visually evaluated the subcortical white matter hyperintensities from T2-weighted FLAIR MRIs (i.e., Fazekas scale). In parallel, neurophysiologists estimated the eLORETA rsEEG source lagged linear connectivity from parietal cortical regions of interest. ResultsCompared to the HIV participants with no/negligible subcortical white matter hyperintensities, the HIV participants with mild/moderate subcortical white matter hyperintensities showed lower parietal interhemispheric rsEEG alpha lagged linear connectivity. This effect was also observed in HIV-positive persons with unimpaired cognition. This rsEEG marker allowed good discrimination (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve > 0.80) between the HIV-positive individuals with different amounts of subcortical white matter hyperintensities. ConclusionsThe parietal rsEEG alpha source connectivity is associated with subcortical white matter vascular lesions in HIV-positive persons, even without neurocognitive disorders. SignificanceThose MRI-rsEEG markers may be used to screen HIV-positive persons at risk of neurocognitive disorders.