Progress and challenges in the elimination of hepatitis C among people who inject drugs in Germany: results of a pilot study for a national monitoring system, 10 years after the first data collection.

Background: People who inject drugs (PWID) are at high risk of blood-borne infections, and injection drug use contributes significantly to hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission. The WHO has therefore set targets of reducing HCV incidence and prevalence among PWID and increasing treatment coverage to eliminate HCV by 2030. The DRUCK study (2011-2014) found high HCV prevalence and low treatment coverage among PWID in Germany.

[A comparison of direct admissions to inpatient-equivalent home treatment with transfers from psychiatric wards].

Aim: Different access routes to inpatient-equivalent home treatment (IEHT) were examined.

Methods: Baseline differences were examined using exploratory group comparisons, treatment effects by type of admission using regression analysis.

Results: Of 200 StäB users, 144 (72%) were admitted directly to IEHT, while 56 (28%) were transferred.

Impact of vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome-associated Gly substitutions on structure, function, and mechanics using bacterial collagen.

Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS) arises from mutations in collagen-III, a major structural component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in vascularized tissues, including blood vessels. Fibrillar collagens form a triple-helix that is characterized by a canonical (Gly-X-Y) sequence. The substitution of another amino acid for Gly within this conserved repeating sequence is associated with several hereditary connective tissue disorders, including vEDS.

Utilization of Psychiatric Hospital Services Following Intensive Home Treatment: A Nonrandomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Home treatment (HT) has been associated with fewer inpatient treatment (IT) readmission days but lacks evidence on reducing combined psychiatric hospital service use (IT, HT, day clinic).

Objective: To assess the association of intensive home treatment (IHT) compared with IT regarding readmission rate, social outcomes, and clinical outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This quasi-experimental, nonrandomized trial was conducted from 2020 to 2022 in 10 psychiatric hospitals in Germany.

HBV shows different levels of adaptation to HLA class I-associated selection pressure correlating with markers of replication.

Background & Aims: Immune responses by CD8 T cells are essential for control of HBV replication. Although selection of escape mutations in CD8 T-cell epitopes has been previously described in HBV infection, its overall influence on HBV sequence diversity and correlation with markers of HBV replication remain unclear.

Methods: Whole-genome sequencing was applied to HBV isolates from 532 patients with chronic HBV infection and high-resolution HLA class I genotyping.