Addressing sexuality and sexual health with migrants. Practice guidelines.

Sexual health is an integral part of overall health and should be discussed with all people who seek help. The Vaccination and Prevention working group of the French Infectious Diseases Society (SPILF) and the Migrant Commission of the French AIDS Society (SFLS) developed recommendations to address this issue with migrants presenting vulnerability factors. After defining sexual health and target migrants, practical recommendations were issued.

Vascular Dysfunction in Malaria: Understanding the Role of the Endothelial Glycocalyx.

Malaria caused by results in over 400,000 deaths annually, predominantly affecting African children. In addition, non-falciparum species including vivax and knowlesi cause significant morbidity and mortality. Vascular dysfunction is a key feature in malaria pathogenesis leading to impaired blood perfusion, vascular obstruction, and tissue hypoxia.

Degradation of endothelial glycocalyx in Tanzanian children with falciparum malaria.

A layer of glycocalyx covers the vascular endothelium serving important protective and homeostatic functions. The objective of this study was to determine if breakdown of the endothelial glycocalyx (eGC) occurs during malaria infection in children. Measures of eGC integrity, endothelial activation, and microvascular reactivity were prospectively evaluated in 146 children: 44 with moderately severe malaria (MSM), 42 with severe malaria (SM), and 60 healthy controls (HC).

Antibacterial Activities of Homemade Matrices Miming Essential Oils Compared to Commercial Ones.

The increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a worldwide concern. Essential oils are known to possess remarkable antibacterial properties, but their high chemical variability complicates their development into new antibacterial agents. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to standardize their chemical composition.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Pterins, Pterin-Dependent Neurotransmitters, and Mortality in Pediatric Cerebral Malaria.

Background: Cerebral malaria (CM) pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. Having shown low systemic levels of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), an enzymatic cofactor for neurotransmitter synthesis, we hypothesized that BH4 and BH4-dependent neurotransmitters would likewise be low in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in CM.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled Tanzanian children with CM and children with nonmalaria central nervous system conditions (NMCs).

Trends and determinants of condomless sex in gonorrhoea patients diagnosed in France through the sentinel surveillance network ResIST, 2005-2014.

Background: Gonorrhoea is increasing in France since its resurgence in the late 1990's. Understanding trends of condomless sex is a requirement to tailor prevention toward most exposed individuals. This study aims to analyse trends and determinants of condomless penetrative sex (PS) in MSM and heterosexuals diagnosed with gonorrhoea in France.

Injection Molded Capsules for Colon Delivery Combining Time-Controlled and Enzyme-Triggered Approaches.

A new type of colon targeting system is presented, combining time-controlled and enzyme-triggered approaches. Empty capsule shells were prepared by injection molding of blends of a high-amylose starch and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) of different chain lengths. The dissolution/erosion of the HPMC network assures a time-controlled drug release, i.

Kinetic and Cross-Sectional Studies on the Genesis of Hypoargininemia in Severe Pediatric Malaria.

The low bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) and its precursor, arginine, contributes to the microvascular pathophysiology of severe falciparum malaria. To better characterize the mechanisms underlying hypoargininemia in severe malaria, we measured the plasma concentrations of amino acids involved in arginine synthesis in children with uncomplicated falciparum malaria (UM;  = 61), children with cerebral falciparum malaria (CM;  = 45), and healthy children (HC;  = 109). We also administered primed infusions of l-arginine uniformly labeled with C and N to 8 children with severe falciparum malaria (SM; age range, 4 to 9 years) and 7 healthy children (HC; age range, 4 to 8 years) to measure the metabolic flux of arginine, hypothesizing that arginine flux is increased in SM.

Decreased Microvascular Function in Tanzanian Children With Severe and Uncomplicated Falciparum Malaria.

Microvascular function and oxygen consumption affect oxygen homeostasis but have not been assessed in African children with malaria. Microvascular function in Tanzanian children with severe malaria (SM) or uncomplicated malaria were 39% and 72%, respectively, of controls ( < .001).

Monocyte polarization in children with falciparum malaria: relationship to nitric oxide insufficiency and disease severity.

We earlier established that nitric oxide (NO) is protective against severe malaria and that arginine and NO levels are reduced in malaria patients. We now show that an M2-like blood monocyte phenotype is significantly associated with hypoargininemia, NO insufficiency, and disease severity in Tanzanian children with falciparum malaria. Compared to control children (n = 106), children with moderately severe (n = 77) and severe falciparum malaria (n = 129) had significantly higher mononuclear cell arginase 1 mRNA, protein, and enzyme activity; lower NOS2 mRNA; lower plasma arginine; and higher plasma IL-10, IL-13, and IL-4.

Impaired systemic tetrahydrobiopterin bioavailability and increased oxidized biopterins in pediatric falciparum malaria: association with disease severity.

Decreased bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO) is a major contributor to the pathophysiology of severe falciparum malaria. Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an enzyme cofactor required for NO synthesis from L-arginine. We hypothesized that systemic levels of BH₄ would be decreased in children with cerebral malaria, contributing to low NO bioavailability.

Quantification of Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein-2 in cerebrospinal spinal fluid from cerebral malaria patients.

A cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker for cerebral malaria (CM) has not been validated. We examined the detection, semiquantification, and clinical use of the Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein-2 (PfHRP-2) as a parasite antigen biomarker for CM. The PfHRP-2 was detected in archival CSF samples from CM patients from Tanzania both by a newly developed sensitive and specific immuno-polymerase chain reaction (72 of 73) and by rapid diagnostic tests (62 of 73).

Dimethylarginines: endogenous inhibitors of nitric oxide synthesis in children with falciparum malaria.

Background: Nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability is impaired in children and adults with severe falciparum malaria (SM). Asymmetric-dimethylarginine (ADMA) limits NO production by inhibiting NO synthase and is increased in adult SM. The role of ADMA in the pathogenesis of childhood SM is unknown.

Use of an emergency department in Saint-Laurent du Maroni, French guiana: does being undocumented make a difference?

Few data exist on the health status and heathcare utilization of the undocumented migrants in France. Data are particularly scarce in French overseas territories where this population is numerous. We aimed to describe the characteristics of undocumented patients who use the emergency department of Saint-Laurent du Maroni Hospital(SLMH) in French Guiana, and to identify factors associated with their subsequent hospitalization.

Plasma Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein-2 concentrations are associated with malaria severity and mortality in Tanzanian children.

Plasma Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein-2 (PfHRP-2) concentrations, a measure of parasite biomass, have been correlated with malaria severity in adults, but not yet in children. We measured plasma PfHRP-2 in Tanzanian children with uncomplicated (n = 61) and cerebral malaria (n = 45; 7 deaths). Median plasma PfHRP-2 concentrations were higher in cerebral malaria (1008 [IQR 342-2572] ng/mL) than in uncomplicated malaria (465 [IQR 36-1426] ng/mL; p = 0.

Migrant health in French Guiana: are undocumented immigrants more vulnerable?

Background: Few data exist on the health status of the immigrant population in French Guiana. The main objective of this article was to identify differences in its health status in relation to that of the native-born population.

Methods: A representative, population-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2009 among 1027 adults living in Cayenne and St-Laurent du Maroni.

The clinical and environmental determinants of airway transcriptional profiles in allergic asthma.

Rationale: Gene expression profiling of airway epithelial and inflammatory cells can be used to identify genes involved in environmental asthma.

Methods: Airway epithelia and inflammatory cells were obtained via bronchial brush and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) from 39 subjects comprising three phenotypic groups (nonatopic nonasthmatic, atopic nonasthmatic, and atopic asthmatic) 4 hours after instillation of LPS, house dust mite antigen, and saline in three distinct subsegmental bronchi. RNA transcript levels were assessed using whole genome microarrays.

Retinal manifestations of patients with human immunodeficiency virus, a multiethnics study in Malaysia.

Aim: To investigate the fundus findings of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in correlation to Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) and CD4 count.

Methods: Two hundred and two patients of the three major races (Chinese, Malay and Indian) in Malaysia were recruited in this population-based cross-sectional study. This consisted of confirmed HIV sero-positive patients with HAART treatment (n=95) or without HAART therapy (n=107) from December 2007 to March 2008.

[Migration, health and access to care in Mayotte Island in 2007: lessons learned from a representative survey].

Background: Mayotte Island, located in the Indian Ocean, is a French overseas departmental community with certain specificities: recent development of sanitary institutions, significant immigration, free access to care for legal residents but with co-payments for irregular residents, the absence of many of the social benefits which exist in mainland France and poor or non-existent health information systems. We report here the first population-based survey describing the links between health, migration and healthcare utilization in this territory.

Methods: Cross sectional population-based study using a three-stage random sample (geographic areas, households, individuals).

[Patients' perception of information received when a complementary medical examination is prescribed].

Medical doctors are required to provide information to their patients regarding their medical procedures according to the law on patient information enacted on March 4, 2002. The objective of this study was to assess patients' awareness and satisfaction with respect to their perception of information obtained prior to or during a medical examination. A self-descriptive patient survey was conducted at the Groupe Hospitalier of Pitié-Salpêtrière in 2005 for this purpose.

Reorganization of Somatosensory Cortex After Nerve and Spinal Cord Injury.

Somatotopic maps in the mature brain reorganize in response to deafferentation by peripheral nerve cut, amputations, or spinal lesions. Mechanisms underlying these changes may range from altered tonic inhibition and synaptic efficacy to neuronal sprouting. An understanding of these mechanisms could guide interventions that potentiate recovery from such injuries.

Sensory enrichment after peripheral nerve injury restores cortical, not thalamic, receptive field organization.

Sensory perception can be severely degraded after peripheral injuries that disrupt the functional organization of the sensory maps in somatosensory cortex, even after nerve regeneration has occurred. Rehabilitation involving sensory retraining can improve perceptual function, presumably through plasticity mechanisms in the somatosensory processing network. However, virtually nothing is known about the effects of rehabilitation strategies on brain organization, or where the effects are mediated.