Current HIV Research - Volume 9, Issue 2, 2011

Anal cancer represents an increasing health problem, especially in immune-compromised patients, as HIVpositive patients. Notably, a significant higher incidence rate is reported among HIV infected patients with the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). To date, no randomised trial supports the correlation between existing screening strategies and reduced progression of anal intraepithelial neoplasi Read More

Background: Current guidelines for HIV management recommend monitoring plasma HIV-1 RNA level every 3-6 months in patients on a stable antiretroviral regimen. However, cost is the major obstacle to follow the guidelines in resource-limited settings. Objective: This study aimed to compare the outcome of antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected patients on a stable regimen who had plasma HIV-1 RNA monitoring Read More

HIV-specific and non-specific immune responses are crucial in the immunopathogenesis of HIV infection. Therefore, the objective of our study was to analyze the frequency and functional status of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells and the expression of non-specific activation markers on CD8+ T cells in HIV+ patients, and to assess the effects of combined antiretroviral treatment (cART). We examined 28 HIV+ patients, including 13 patie Read More

An aqueous extract of starfish, Asterina pectinifera, was investigated for its anti-HIV-1 efficiency in vitro on human T-cell lines. A. pectinifera significantly maintained the viability of HIV-infected cells as much as 86% of the untreated infected control cells at the non-toxic concentrations (0.05∼4 mg/mL) in CEM-SS cells. Anti-HIV-1 activity of A. pectinifera extract was further supported by quantification of syncytia formatio Read More

Background: Emerging HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) poses a growing threat to the long-term success and durability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Objective: To understand the development of HIVDR and estimate the proportion of potential HIVDR and its associated risk factors among the patients on HAART for one year. Methods: Antiretroviral-naive patients ≥18 years old were invited to participate in this one-y Read More

Studies on the association between SDF1 genotype and HIV-1 susceptibility have generated inconclusive results. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to summarize the findings of different studies. Articles reporting SDF1 gene polymorphisms among HIV-1 infected patients and controls were searched from PubMed up to June 2010. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to assess the associati Read More

Well into the 25th year of the HIV pandemics, and into the 15th year of the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, liver transplantation (LT) in the HIV population might be viewed as both a problem and an opportunity. It is still a problem when we consider that only a small proportion of all HIV-infected patients with end stage liver disease (ESLD) will have access to this precious and limited resource. But, in the face of t Read More

Hepatic fatty acid (FA) composition, especially a reduction in n-3 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) may contribute to the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is common in HIV-infection. In a cross-sectional study we compared hepatic FA composition between 20 HIV-infected men with NAFLD (HIV/NAFLD), 21 HIVnegative men with NAFLD (NAFLD), and 7 healthy controls. Within HIV/NAFLD we compare Read More

The rapid increase of HIV-1 prevalence among Chinese men who have sex with men (MSM) provides an impetus for the acquisition of molecular epidemiologic information from this population. We conducted four serial crosssectional surveys during the years 2005-2009 and observed that the composition of HIV-1 subtypes was dynamically changing from clade B to CRF01_AE from years 2005-2009. HIV-1 infection in this popula Read More