Current HIV Research - Volume 14, Issue 2, 2016

Background: As persons with HIV are living longer, there is a growing need to investigate factors associated with chronic disease, rate of disease progression and survivorship. Many risk factors for this high-risk population change over time, such as participation in treatment, alcohol consumption and drug abuse. Longitudinal datasets are increasingly available, particularly clinical data that contain multiple observation Read More

Background: The probabilistic discrete event systems (PDES) method provides a promising approach to study dynamics of underage drinking using cross-sectional data. However, the utility of this approach is often limited because the constructed PDES model is often non-identifiable. The purpose of the current study is to attempt a new method to solve the model. Methods: A PDES-based model of alcohol use behavior was Read More

Background: Resistance to antiretroviral drugs is a complex and evolving area with relevant implications in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Several rules, algorithms and full-fledged computer programs have been developed to assist the HIV specialist in the choice of the best patient-tailored therapy. Methods: Experts’ rules and statistical/machine learning algorithms for interp Read More

Background: The ability of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) to persist in anatomic compartments and cellular reservoirs is a major obstacle for eradication of replicationcompetent virus in the infected host. Approach: We extensively review recent advancements in phylogenetic and phylogeographic techniques that provide a unique opportunity for studies of intra-host HIV-1 compartmentalization and the detectio Read More

Background: Many HIV research projects are plagued by the high missing rate of selfreported information during data collection. Also, due to the sensitive nature of the HIV research data, privacy protection is always a concern for data sharing in HIV studies. Methods: This paper applies a data masking approach, called triple-matrix masking [1], to the context of HIV research for ensuring privacy protection during the process of Read More

Background: Better decisions for the control of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases require better information. The large amount of available public health data makes it possible to extract such information to monitor and predict significant disease events in disease epidemic. The detection of unusual events often involves a combination of a forecasting and a decision mechanism assessing the extent to which an observed ev Read More

Background: In the past decade, HIV/AIDS epidemic in Taiwan experienced an outbreak of HIV-1 CRF07_BC among intravenous drug users (IDU) in 2004-2006 that led to the reported HIV/AIDS case number more than doubled in less than 3 years and subsequent changes in free antiretroviral therapy (ART) treatment program for persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Methods: We investigate HIV underreporting in Taiwan by uti Read More

Introduction: Multiple specific populations, including MSMs, IDUs, and FPDs, are involved in HIV epidemic in China. In the recent years, HIV transmission due to heterosexual transmission also contributed greatly to HIV epidemic in China. Very few studies have been fulfilled to characterize relationships of HIV-1 strains prevalent in different populations. In this study, the phylogenetic relationships of HIV-1 spreadi Read More

Background: HIV envelope glycoprotein gp120 is the main protein that causes HIVassociated sensory neuropathy. However, the underlying mechanisms of gp120-induced neurotoxicity are still unclear. There are lack effective treatments for relieving HIV-related neuropathic symptoms caused by gp120-induced neurotoxicity. Methods: In the present study, tyrosine kinase receptor (Trk)A, TrkB, and TrkC expression in prim Read More

Aim: To investigate the prevalence and genotypic profile of overt and occult hepatitis-B infection (OBI) among HIV-infected individuals in Cameroon. Methods: 212 HIV-infected Cameroonians, aged 37.6 [IQR: 32.6-46.6] followed-up at the University Health Centre in Yaoundé, were tested for HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc IgG/IgM, HBV-DNA and anti-HCV IgG. HBV positive cases were tested for Hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) using anti- Read More