Simultaneous determination of the new HIV protease inhibitor lopinavir (ABT 378) and of indinavir(1), amprenavir, saquinavir, ritonavir (ABT 538)(2) and nelfinavir(3) in human plasma by gradient HPLC.

Protease inhibitors are known by their inhibition of a viral protease that leads to production of immature and non-infectious virus particles. The novel protease inhibitor KALETRA is a co-formulation of lopinavir and ritonavir. Ritonavir reduces the metabolization of lopinavir by the cytochrome P450 3A4 isoenzyme which leads to markedly increased plasma levels of lopinavir(4).

[Women and AIDS. HIV-positive patients need special monitoring].

Worldwide, 50% of all HIV-positive persons are female. The situation is particularly dismal in Africa and Asia, in South America and in the Caribbean. Germany is confronted with a high percentage of immigrants from countries in these parts of the world, and consequently must expect to see an increasing rate of HIV-positive women from these regions.

[Progressive cicatricial psoriatic alopecia in AIDS].

Scarring alopecia is a rare complication of scalp psoriasis which in most cases occurs in areas of long-standing lesions. A HIV-positive 35 year-old Moroccan patient (CDC C3) developed scalp psoriasis with scarring alopecia within five weeks. Topical antipsoriatic therapy resulted in alleviation of psoriatic lesions and stopped the progression of the alopecia.

[Stopping secondary prevention in AIDS patients with inactive CMV retinitis treated with HAART (highly active antiretroviral therapy)].

Background: Immune recovery of AIDS patients with cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis treated and healed by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) is reflected by increased CD4 cell count and decreased virus load. Due to partial reconstitution of the immune status the risk of opportunistic infections decreases, as well as the risk of reactivating inactive CMV retinitis. It may therefore be possible to stop anti-CMV maintenance therapy may after HAART-induced immune recovery.

Anal endosonography and manometry: comparison in patients with defecation problems.

Purpose: Correlations between anal sphincter function as assessed by anorectal manometry and anal sphincter anatomy measured by endoluminal ultrasound have been reported in the literature both for patients and for healthy individuals but have not been confirmed by other authors.

Methods: For a larger series of patients (152 consecutive patients, mean age 54.1 +/- 15.