Factors associated with the take-up of voluntary medical male circumcision amongst learners in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

Voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is an integral part of South Africa's HIV prevention programme. School-going males, in particular, are considered a cost-effective target population. However, ambitious policy targets have not been achieved due to the plateau in demand for VMMC.

Early Resumption of Sex following Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision amongst School-Going Males.

Voluntary medical male circumcision is an integral part of the South African government's response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Following circumcision, it is recommended that patients abstain from sexual activity for six weeks, as sex may increase the risk of female-to-male HIV transmission and prolong the healing period. This paper investigates the resumption of sexual activity during the healing period among a cohort of school-going males in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

Challenges with participant reimbursement: experiences from a post-trial access study.

Reimbursement of trial participants remains a frequently debated issue, with specific guidance lacking. Trials combining post-trial access and implementation science may necessitate new strategies and models. CAPRISA 008, a post-trial access study testing the feasibility of using family planning services to rollout a prelicensure HIV prevention intervention, tried to balance the real-life scenario of no reimbursement for attendance at public sector clinics with that of a trial including some visits that focused on research procedures and others that focused on standard of care procedures.

Assessing the implementation effectiveness and safety of 1% tenofovir gel provision through family planning services in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: study protocol for an open-label randomized controlled trial.

Background: The Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) 004 trial demonstrated a 39% reduction in HIV infection, with a 54% HIV reduction in women who used tenofovir gel consistently. A confirmatory trial is expected to report results in early 2015. In the interim, we have a unique window of opportunity to prepare for and devise effective strategies for the future policy and programmatic scale-up of tenofovir gel provision.

Meeting the sexual and reproductive health needs of high-school students in South Africa: experiences from rural KwaZulu-Natal.

Background: Adolescents in South Africa (SA) have a huge unmet need for sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. Integrating such services into schools may overcome many of the current barriers to access.

Objectives: We describe an SRH service model developed for high-school students and its implementation in 14 high schools in rural SA.

Barriers and facilitators to the uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) among adolescent boys in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Epidemiological modelling has concluded that if voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is scaled up in high HIV prevalence settings it would lead to a significant reduction in HIV incidence rates. Following the adoption of this evidence by the WHO, South Africa has embarked on an ambitious VMMC programme. However, South Africa still falls short of meeting VMMC targets, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, the epicentre of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Implementation of adolescent-friendly voluntary medical male circumcision using a school based recruitment program in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Background: Epidemiological data from South Africa demonstrate that risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in males increases dramatically after adolescence. Targeting adolescent HIV-negative males may be an efficient and cost-effective means of maximising the established HIV prevention benefits of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) in high HIV prevalence-, low circumcision practice-settings. This study assessed the feasibility of recruiting male high school students for VMMC in such a setting in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

Sequence variants in the melatonin-related receptor gene (GPR50) associate with circulating triglyceride and HDL levels.

The gene encoding the melatonin-related receptor (GPR50) is highly expressed within hypothalamic nuclei concerned with the control of body weight and metabolism. We screened GPR50 for mutations in an obese cohort and identified an insertion of four amino acid residues (TTGH) at position 501, two common coding polymorphisms (T528A and V602I), and one noncoding polymorphism (C-16X2GPR50T). Single-nucleotide polymorphisms were then typed in 500 English Caucasian subjects, and associations were sought to intermediate obesity phenotypes.

Studies of the neuromedin U-2 receptor gene in human obesity: evidence for the existence of two ancestral forms of the receptor.

Central administration of neuromedin U (NMU) suppresses food intake acting through the NMU-2 receptor (NMU2R), which is expressed in the hypothalamus. We screened the NMU2R gene in 96 patients with severe early-onset obesity. A common variant haplotype was found (f-0.

Association between physical activity and blood pressure is modified by variants in the G-protein coupled receptor 10.

Hypertension is strongly related to cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. Exercise reduces blood pressure but the response varies between individuals. The mechanisms by which physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) modifies blood pressure are not fully defined but include modulation of sympathetic tone.

Association of polymorphisms in GPR10, the gene encoding the prolactin-releasing peptide receptor with blood pressure, but not obesity, in a U.K. Caucasian population.

Prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP) and its G-protein-coupled receptor, GPR10, have been implicated in the central control of appetite and blood pressure. To determine whether mutations in these genes might contribute to morbid obesity, we screened both genes in 94 subjects with severe early-onset obesity. Four rare silent variants in PrRP and eight polymorphisms in GPR10 were found, two of which (V283I and P305L) altered amino acid sequence but were also found in U.

Characterization of the human, mouse and rat PGC1 beta (peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor-gamma co-activator 1 beta) gene in vitro and in vivo.

PGC1 alpha is a co-activator involved in adaptive thermogenesis, fatty-acid oxidation and gluconeogenesis. We describe the identification of several isoforms of a new human PGC1 alpha homologue, cloned independently and named PGC1 beta. The human PGC1 beta gene is localized to chromosome 5, has 13 exons and spans more than 78 kb.