CYP1A1 genotype modifies the impact of smoking on effectiveness of HAART among women.

We have recently shown that cigarette smoking is associated with lesser responses to potent antiretroviral therapies. Certain Cytochrome P-450 enzymes activate compounds derived from tobacco smoke into toxic forms that may promote HIV-1 gene expression through promotion of DNA-adduct formation by the oxidation of chemical constituents of cigarette smoke, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons and dioxins. To explore the association between environmental and genetic factors to viral replication in women who smoke and receive highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), we assessed the impact of polymorphisms in a panel of four Cytochrome P-450 genes (CYP1A1, CYP2A6, CYP2D6, and CYP2E1) and two Glutathione S-transferase genes (GSTM1 and GSST1) in 924 participants of the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS).

Variations in compliance with documentation using computerized obstetric records.

Objective: To explore factors that affect documentation completeness using an electronic medical record with a decision support system for obstetrics.

Methods: Two thousand eight hundred nine consecutive deliveries were analyzed and data were obtained from structured fields in the decision support system. The decision support system was customized to deactivate the system's repetitive prompts and reminders for documentation completeness for the chosen study parameters.

Live birth patterns among human immunodeficiency virus-infected women before and after the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate the relationship between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and childbearing before and after the availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Methods: Enrollment in the Women's Interagency HIV study took place in 1994-1995 (pre-HAART era) and again in 2001-2002 (HAART era). Live birth rates prior to enrollment were compared between treatment era cohorts for HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected women aged 15-44 years using Poisson regression.

Association of cigarette smoking with HIV prognosis among women in the HAART era: a report from the women's interagency HIV study.

Objective: We assessed the association of cigarette smoking with the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) among low-income women.

Methods: Data were analyzed from the Women's Interagency HIV Study, a multisite longitudinal study up to 7.9 years for 924 women representing 72% of all women who initiated HAART between July 1, 1995, and September 30, 2003.

Effect of dialysis modality on plasma fibrinogen concentration: a meta-analysis.

Background: Concentrations of plasma fibrinogen, a vascular risk factor, tend to be greater in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) than hemodialysis (HD) therapy, like concentrations of serum cholesterol, lipoprotein(a), and transthyretin, despite the substantial loss of protein during PD. Worse vascular outcome has been noted in PD patients compared with HD patients in several studies.

Methods: In this study, the mean difference in plasma fibrinogen levels (PD-HD) was quantified by means of meta-analysis of mean differences found in 12 cohorts with both PD and HD patients (set 1; N = 630) by using a fixed-effects model and meta-analysis of mean fibrinogen values reported in 30 cohorts of patients on a single dialysis modality (set 2; 8 PD cohorts, 22 HD cohorts; N = 2,096) by using a mixed model.

Association between renal disease and outcomes among HIV-infected women receiving or not receiving antiretroviral therapy.

Background: The associations of proteinuria and an elevated creatinine level with progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and death in the era of highly antiretroviral therapy (HAART) have not been fully described.

Methods: This analysis includes 2038 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women from the Women's Interagency HIV Study. Time to the development of a new AIDS-defining illness (ADI) and death was modeled using proportional hazards regression before the widespread availability of HAART and after initiation of HAART.

Relationship between smoking and human papillomavirus infections in HIV-infected and -uninfected women.

Background. Smoking may increase the risk of cervical cancer, a disease that is related to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. However, the effects of smoking on the natural history of HPV are poorly understood, especially in women coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Serum albumin is a powerful predictor of survival among HIV-1-infected women.

Background: We previously reported that single measurements of albumin strongly predict survival in HIV-1-infected women independent of disease-specific markers. We now extend this to the use of serial measurements and single albumin values prior to initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Design: Prospective cohort study of 1941 women enrolled at six sites in the Women's Interagency HIV Study.

C-reactive protein is an independent predictor of mortality in women with HIV-1 infection.

The relationship of C-reactive protein (CRP) to mortality was assessed in 209 HIV-1-infected women after adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), serum albumin, CD4 cell lymphocyte count, and HIV-1 RNA. During the follow-up period of up to 5 years (median = 45 months) there were 49 deaths. CRP at study enrollment was measured using a low sensitivity assay.

Serum prealbumin is higher in peritoneal dialysis than in hemodialysis: a meta-analysis.

Background: Although not widely appreciated, the reported concentration of serum prealbumin, like that of serum cholesterol, tends to be higher in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) than on hemodialysis (HD), despite the substantial loss of protein during PD.

Methods: The mean difference in serum prealbumin was quantified by meta-analysis of the mean differences found in six cohorts with both PD and HD patients (set 1; N = 639) using a fixed-effects model, and meta-analysis of the mean prealbumin values reported in 23 cohorts of unselected dialysis patients on a single modality (set 2; 9 PD cohorts, 14 HD cohorts; N = 12,256) using a mixed model. For comparison, the mean difference in serum albumin concentration between PD and HD also was estimated in sets 1 and 2 using the same methods.

Marked Intratumoral Heterogeneity of the Proto-Oncogene Her-2/neu Determined by Three Different Detection Systems.

It is customary to submit only one portion of a breast cancer to determine if there is amplification or overexpression of the proto-oncogene HER-2/neu. In routine studies of the expression of neu in breast cancer, however, we noted discrepancies in intratumoral positivity. To investigate this phenomenon further, multiple tumor specimens (129 samples) from 41 women with breast cancer were examined.