Epstein - Barr Virus Salivary Shedding in Patients with Acute Infectious Diseases: A Pilot Study.

Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a widely disseminated herpesvirus for which antibodies have been demonstrated in over 90% of adults worldwide. After subclinical primary EBV infections, as well as after infectious mononucleosis, the virus can be shed in saliva for a prolonged period of time.

Aim: Diseases and disorders that can induce EBV salivary shedding include mental disorders and sex, connective tissue disease, multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, malaria and HIV infection.

Analysis of Types of Skin Lesions and Diseases in Everyday Infectious Disease Practice-How Experienced Are We?

Rashes and skin lesions are a common reason for patient visits to emergency departments and physicians' offices. The differential diagnosis includes a variety of infectious and non-infectious diseases, some of which can be life-threatening. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the quantity and type of skin lesions among outpatients and inpatients at a tertiary care university-affiliated teaching hospital for infectious diseases over a three-year period to assess disease burden and physicians' experience in diagnosing skin lesions.

Cardiovascular markers of inflammation and serum lipid levels in HIV-infected patients with undetectable viremia.

Patients successfully treated for HIV infection still have an increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, which might be related not only to traditional risks, but also to inflammation and dyslipidemia. We examined the relationship of serum lipid levels with plasma biomarkers of inflammation using a composite inflammatory burden score (IBS) based on individual (>75 percentile) measurements from the following seven markers: CD40L, tPA, MCP-1, IL-8, IL-6, hCRP and P-selectin. IBS was categorized as 0 (none of the biomarkers >75 percentile), 1, 2 and 3 or more scores.

Cardiovascular markers of inflammation and serum lipid levels in HIV-infected patients with undetectable viraemia.

Introduction: Successfully treated HIV-infected patients may still have an increased risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, which might be related not only to traditional risks, but also to inflammation and dyslipidemia induced by HIV and/or antiretroviral therapy [1, 2]. We examined the relationship of serum lipid levels with plasma biomarkers of inflammation using a composite inflammatory burden score (IBS) from the following seven markers of inflammation: CD40L, tPA, MCP-1, IL-8, IL-6, hCRP and P-selectin.

Materials And Methods: Subjects were selected among consecutive HIV-infected males ≥18 years of age with an undetectable viral load (<50 copies/mL of HIV1-RNA), seen at the University Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Zagreb, Croatia, in the period from January 2012 to March 2013.