Smoking and life expectancy among HIV-infected individuals on antiretroviral therapy in Europe and North America.

Background: Cardiovascular disease and non-AIDS malignancies have become major causes of death among HIV-infected individuals. The relative impact of lifestyle and HIV-related factors are debated.

Methods: We estimated associations of smoking with mortality more than 1 year after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation among HIV-infected individuals enrolled in European and North American cohorts.

Cardio- and cerebrovascular events in HIV-infected persons.

Objective: Recent results from the D:A:D Study indicated that the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) increased by 26% per year of exposure to combination antiretroviral treatment (CART). The present study was performed to investigate whether this risk was similar when including other cardio- and cerebro-vascular disease events (CCVE).

Design: D:A:D is an international collaboration of 11 cohorts, following 23 468 HIV-infected patients prospectively at 188 clinics in 21 countries situated in Europe, USA and Australia.

Pharmacokinetics of zidovudine in HIV-positive patients with liver disease.

The pharmacokinetics of zidovudine (ZDV) have been studied in eight AIDS patients with normal liver function, and in four AIDS patients with liver disease. Patients who were previously untreated with ZDV were given 250 mg ZDV, and plasma levels of ZDV and its glucuronic metabolite, GZDV, were determined at 0.5, 1, 1.

HLA-associated susceptibility to HIV-1 infection.

We studied HLA antigen distribution of 50 heterosexual partners of HIV+ drug abusers with more than 1 year of sexual exposure to HIV, 36 children born to seropositive mothers and 61 haemophiliac patients exposed to presumably infectious clotting factor concentrates. B52 and B44 antigens were associated with HIV resistance while B51 was associated with HIV susceptibility. Forty-nine HIV+ drug abusers, spouses of heterosexual partners studied and 25 HIV+ mothers of the children were also typed.

Intrafamilial spread of hepatitis B virus infection. (Role of chronic hepatitis and of the hepatitis B e antigen).

Two hundred and forty household contacts of 85 chronic HBsAg carriers were studied to assess the relationship between liver histology and 'e' antigen or antibody positivity in the index carrier, and evidence of HBV infection within the family. Liver biopsy results were available in 54 index carriers. The prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HBs in the families of 29 carriers with chronic hepatitis and 25 carriers with either a normal liver or minimal inflammatory changes was not significantly different.