The prevalence of dermatophyte infection in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

Background: It is not known whether human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with an increased susceptibility to dermatophytes.

Methods: In this study, we determined the prevalence of cutaneous fungal infection in a cohort of HIV-infected patients and HIV-negative controls, and examined the factors associated with an increased risk of infection.

Results: Using a multiple regression analysis, we found that the strongest independent predictor of cutaneous fungal infection in both groups was a self-reported history of homosexual sex.

A transcriptional profile of aging in the human kidney.

In this study, we found 985 genes that change expression in the cortex and the medulla of the kidney with age. Some of the genes whose transcripts increase in abundance with age are known to be specifically expressed in immune cells, suggesting that immune surveillance or inflammation increases with age. The age-regulated genes show a similar aging profile in the cortex and the medulla, suggesting a common underlying mechanism for aging.