Search results for "DEFICIENCY"
showing 10 items of 1071 documents
Peer-Led or Expert-Led Intervention in HIV Prevention Efficacy? A Randomized Control Trial Among Spanish Young People to Evaluate Their Role
2017
HIV new infections still affect young people around the world. In this context, behavioral interventions seem to be effective in promoting safe sex although some conditions are still inconclusive in different regions. For example, there is insufficient evidence about who may be the best facilitator. For this reason, this study evaluates the effectiveness of peer and expert facilitators for HIV prevention aimed at Spanish young people. For this purpose 225 Spanish college students, aged between 18 and 25 (74.20% women and 25.80% men), were involved in an experimental design to evaluate the facilitators’ effect in a brief intervention for HIV prevention. Participants’ results were measured b…
Detection of human immunodeficiency virus-1 DNA, RNA and antibody, and occult blood in inactivated saliva: Availability of the filter paper disk meth…
1996
Eighty three samples of saliva were collected from 60 subjects who were asymptomatic carriers of AIDS related complex (ARC) and AIDS. They included hemophiliacs, homosexuals and heterosexuals. Occult blood, human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) antibody and DNA were assayed after heat treatment at 56 degrees C by strip method, particle agglutination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), respectively. HIV-1 RNA was assayed by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR after heat treatment at 56 degrees C or 90 degrees C, or after application to filter paper disks with drying and heat treatment at 90 degrees C. Positive results were found in 53% (occult blood), 73% (HIV-1 antibody), 23% (HIV-1 DNA, 56 de…
Hypogonadism-related symptoms: development and evaluation of an empirically derived self-rating instrument (HRS ‘Hypogonadism Related Symptom Scale’)
2009
While self-report screening instruments are highly sensitive to hypogonadism in the ageing male, they have lacked specificity as evidenced by low or absent correlations with testosterone. The purpose of this paper was to develop an economical and specific screening instrument for identifying hypogonadal ageing men. Based on a comprehensive study of physical, somatoform and affective complaints, sexual behaviour and function and hormonal parameters of 263 outpatients aged 40 years and above (M = 56.2; 40-84 years) recruited from six andrological outpatient departments in Germany, we identified those items correlating significantly with testosterone. By factor analyses, five factors were iden…
Intravitreal foscarnet for cytomegalovirus retinitis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
1992
We treated a patient who had acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and cytomegalovirus retinitis of the left eye. After anesthetic had been topically administered, the patient received intravitreal injections of 1,200 micrograms of foscarnet. Plasma and vitreous foscarnet levels were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Systemic absorption of the drug was not evident. Elimination half-life from the vitreous after one injection was 54.0 hours. Vitreous levels remained above the mean 50% inhibition value for cytomegalovirus for approximately 56 hours and above the mean inhibition value for human immunodeficiency virus for approximately 241 hours. The patient's visual acuity improv…
Ezetimibe/Simvastatin 10/20 mg versus Rosuvastatin 10 mg in high-risk hypercholesterolemic patients stratified by prior statin treatment potency
2010
Abstract Objective This post-hoc analysis compared the lipid-altering efficacy of Ezetimibe/Simvastatin 10/20 mg (EZ/Simva) versus Rosuvastatin 10 mg (Rosuva) in patients stratified by statin potency/dose prior to randomization. Methods Patients with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) despite prior statin treatment (n = 618) were randomized 1:1 to EZ/Simva 10/20 mg or Rosuva 10 mg for 6 weeks. Percent change from baseline in lipids and attainment of lipid targets were assessed within each subgroup (low potency n = 369, high potency n = 249). Consistency of the treatment effect across subgroups was evaluated by testing for treatment-by-subgroup interaction. No multiplicity …
Changes in At-Risk Behavior for HIV Infection among HIV-Positive Persons in Italy
2009
Many HIV-positive persons reportedly continue to engage in at-risk behavior. We compared the sexual and drug-using practices of HIV-positive persons before and after the diagnosis of HIV infection to determine whether their behavior had changed. To this end, in 2006, we conducted a cross-sectional study involving clinical centers in five Italian cities. Each center was asked to enroll 100 persons aged 18 years or older who had a diagnosis of HIV infection that dated back at least 2 years. Data were collected with a specifically designed questionnaire, administered during a structured interview. The McNemar chi2 test was used to compare the data before and after the diagnosis. A total of 497…
Neutralizing antibody and clinical status of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals
1989
An assay based on inhibition of cytopathic effect of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) strains in Molt 4 cells was developed to quantitate neutralizing antibodies (NA) in sera of HIV-infected individuals. The assay was specific and gave results comparable to those obtained by the inhibition of immunofluorescence (IFI) and reverse transcriptase (RT) activity. Attempts were made to correlate the presence and the antibody titres with the clinical status of HIV-infected individuals classified according to Walter Reed staging classification scheme. NA titres correlated inversely with the stage of HIV infection: Compared with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients, HIV-infected subje…
LOW-DOSE INTERLEUKIN-2 INDUCES SYSTEMIC IMMUNE RESPONSES AGAINST HBsAg IN IMMUNODEFICIENT NON-RESPONDERS TO HEPATITIS B VACCINATION
1989
Abstract A metabolic monocyte defect appears to correlate with non-responsiveness to hepatitis B vaccine in many patients on haemodialysis. This defect prevents production of interleukin-2 during T-cell activation after antigen contact. Receptors for interleukin-2 are, however, expressed in greater numbers than in healthy subjects or uraemic responders to hepatitis B vaccination. In this study, ten uraemic patients, previous non-responders to vaccination against hepatitis B, were revaccinated with the same vaccine combined with one intramuscular injection (2·5 × 10 5 U) of natural human interleukin-2. Systemic production of antibodies against hepatitis B surface antigen was initiated in tho…
Low serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D in adults affected by thalassemia major or intermedia
2006
Adult thalassemic patients have reduced bone mass due to disturbances in several different mechanisms affecting bone turnover. To determine if vitamin D deficiency contributes to the low bone mass of adult thalassemic subjects, we studied serum 25-OH-vitamin D levels in 90 patients (age ranging between 21 and 48 years) affected with thalassemia major (TM) and 35 (age 21-56 years) with thalassemia intermedia (TI). TM patients had been receiving regular transfusions from the age of 2 years and had increased serum ferritin, glutamic oxalacetic transaminase, glutamic piruvic transaminase as well as low bone density (L1-L4 Z score -2.07 +/- 0.2). TI patients did not receive transfusions, but the…
Replacement therapy for alpha-1-protease inhibitor deficiency in PiZ subjects with chronic obstructive lung disease
1988
In a six-month multicenter feasibility and safety study, 20 patients, who all had a congenital deficiency of alpha-1-protease inhibitor (A1PI) of the PiZ phenotype accompanied by a chronic obstructive lung disease, were treated with human-plasma-derived A1PI. A weekly dose of 60 mg/kg, administered intravenously, was shown to be sufficient to maintain patient serum levels above the threshold limit of 35 percent, the serum level of healthy persons of the MZ phenotype. This is supposed to be the minimal effective level for protection against the elastolytic attack of the lung and, therefore, satisfies one of the most important criteria of feasibility of long-term replacement therapy. The glob…