Publications by authors named "Laura Levi"

Background: Historically, women have been shown to underestimate their abilities, while men often assess themselves more accurately or overestimate. This study aims to determine self-assessment accuracy during online Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) according to gender.

Methods: A prospective study was conducted among fourth-year medical students at Paris Cité University during faculty training OSCEs, utilizing Zoom® software for remote participation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an emerging mosquito-borne RNA virus that can create defective viral genomes (DVGs), which help inhibit its replication and spread.
  • This study examines how the RNA secondary structures of CHIKV influence the production of DVGs by using advanced techniques like SHAPE-MaP to map these structures.
  • The findings show that alterations in RNA secondary structures can lead to differences in DVG generation, highlighting the role of RNA configuration in the virus's replication process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has led to a complete reconfiguration of the therapeutic landscape, with all monoclonal antibodies having lost any neutralization activity. We report here a case series of 75 immunocompromised patients infected by the Omicron variant who benefited from COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP). At Day 28, the overall survival was 76% (95% CI 67-86) with no significant difference in the clinical outcome between patients with hematological malignancies, solid organ transplantation or autoimmune diseases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) guidelines were revised in 2023 for the 19th time, and all aspects of HIV care were updated.

Key Points Of The Guidelines Update: Version 12.0 of the guidelines recommend the same six first-line treatment options for antiretroviral treatment (ART)-naïve adults as versions 11.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Scientists studied special immune cells in the liver that help protect against problems caused by obesity.
  • They found that these helpful cells get fewer in number when people are obese.
  • The research suggests that trying to boost these protective cells could help fight against liver diseases linked to obesity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We describe a case of healthcare-associated bloodstream infection due to . Whole-genome sequencing showed that the same strain was isolated from the shared shower water of the unit. Nontuberculous mycobacteria frequently contaminate hospital water networks.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia in persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reflects the level of immunodeficiency. In the absence of CMV end-organ disease, early start of effective antiretroviral therapy is the only treatment required and is most often sufficient to control CMV replication.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia in HIV-positive patients starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) and to evaluate its impact on clinical outcomes.

Design: A retrospective analysis of four clinical trials (INSIGHT FIRST, SMART, START, and ANRS REFLATE TB).

Methods: Stored plasma samples from participants were used to measure CMV viremia at baseline prior to initiating ART and at visits through 1 year of follow-up after ART initiation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Patients with hematological malignancy and COVID-19 display a high mortality rate. In such patients, immunosuppression due to underlying disease and previous specific treatments impair humoral response, limiting viral clearance. Thus, COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) therapy appears as a promising approach through the transfer of neutralizing antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Diphtheria is a re-emerging disease in resource-rich settings. We here report three cases of cutaneous diphtheria diagnosed and managed in our infectious disease department and discuss the determinants of its re-emergence. Migration, travel and vaccine scepticism are key factors not only for diphtheria re-emergence, but for the future of most preventable diseases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Aims: Oxidative stress plays a key role in the development of metabolic complications associated with obesity, including insulin resistance and the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. We have recently discovered that the microRNA miR-144 regulates protein levels of the master mediator of the antioxidant response, nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2). On miR-144 silencing, the expression of NRF2 target genes was significantly upregulated, suggesting that miR-144 controls NRF2 at the level of both protein expression and activity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • There are viruses carried by bugs that can make people really sick, so scientists need new ways to stop them.
  • This research looks at a special part of the virus called defective viral genomes (DVGs) that can actually help fight off the bad viruses like Zika.
  • The scientists found that some DVGs can really weaken the Zika virus, making it less likely to spread, even in mosquitoes, which can help protect people from getting sick.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Defective viral genomes (DVGs) are truncated and/or rearranged viral genomes produced during virus replication. Described in many RNA virus families, some of them have interfering activity on their parental virus and/or strong immunostimulatory potential, and are being considered in antiviral approaches. Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an alphavirus transmitted by Aedes spp.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Superinfection exclusion (SIE) is a process by which a virally infected cell is protected from subsequent infection by the same or a closely related virus. By preventing cell coinfection, SIE favors preservation of genome integrity of a viral strain and limits its recombination potential with other viral genomes, thereby impacting viral evolution. Although described in virtually all viral families, the precise step(s) impacted by SIE during the viral life cycle have not been systematically explored.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Obesity and insulin resistance are risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. Because no approved medication nor an accurate and noninvasive diagnosis is currently available for NAFLD, there is a clear need to better understand the link between obesity and NAFLD. Lipid accumulation during obesity is known to be associated with oxidative stress and inflammatory activation of liver macrophages (LMs).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Research using mice showed that obesity and undernourishment altered disease outcomes, with obese mice experiencing increased suffering from the infection, despite not significantly affecting the virus's replication in their blood early on.
  • * The study on Mayaro virus highlighted that both obese and undernourished mice were less efficient in transmitting the virus to mosquitoes and had reduced viral fitness, indicating that nutrition plays a significant role in the dynamics of viral outbreaks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-borne virus causing chikungunya fever, which can result in severe joint pain and some fatalities; recent outbreaks have been linked to the virus adapting to its mosquito hosts and poor control of these vectors.
  • Researchers have developed live attenuated vaccine candidates for CHIKV using a genomic design that reduces virus mutation and maintains a reduced ability to cause disease in both mosquitoes and mammals, showing strong safety and immune response after just one dose.
  • The vaccine candidates were capable of being transmitted by mosquito bites, leading to asymptomatic infections, and the extensive genomic modifications significantly lower the risk of the virus reverting back to its harmful form, making them promising options for vaccination against chikung
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Arthritogenic alphaviruses are responsible for a dengue-like syndrome associated with severe debilitating polyarthralgia that can persist for months or years and impact life quality. Chikungunya virus is the most well-known member of this family since it was responsible for two worldwide epidemics with millions of cases in the last 15 years. However, other arthritogenic alphaviruses that are as of yet restrained to specific territories are the cause of neglected tropical diseases: O'nyong'nyong virus in Sub-Saharan Africa, Mayaro virus in Latin America, and Ross River virus in Australia and the Pacific island countries and territories.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In the version of this article initially published, author Volker M. Lauschke had affiliation number 13; the correct affiliation number is 12. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Liver macrophages (LMs) have been proposed to contribute to metabolic disease through secretion of inflammatory cytokines. However, anti-inflammatory drugs lead to only modest improvements in systemic metabolism. Here we show that LMs do not undergo a proinflammatory phenotypic switch in obesity-induced insulin resistance in flies, mice and humans.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Particles containing degenerate forms of the viral genome which interfere with virus replication and are non-replicative per se are known as defective interfering particles (DIPs). DIPs are likely to be produced upon infection by any virus in vitro and in nature. Until recently, roles of these non-viable particles as members of a multi-component viral system have been overlooked.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF