Publications by authors named "Lionel Bala"
Acquired drug resistance (ADR) is common among adolescents living with perinatal HIV (APHI) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Personalized management has the potential to improve pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART), even in the presence of long-term treatment and HIV-1 subtype diversity. We sought to evaluate the effect of HIV-1 mutational profiling on immuno-virological response and ADR among APHI.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: We sought to evaluate the variability of HIV-1 and its effect on immuno-virological response among adolescents living with perinatally acquired HIV (APHI).
Methods: A cohort study was conducted from 2018-2020 among 311 APHI receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Cameroon. Sequencing of protease and reverse transcriptase regions was performed for participants experiencing virological failure, VF, (Plasma viral load, PVL ≥ 1000 RNA copies/ml).
Article Synopsis
- HIV-related adolescent deaths have surged by about 50%, particularly impacting those vertically infected, which may be linked to drug resistance and challenges in antiretroviral therapy (ART).
- A study involving 296 perinatally HIV-infected adolescents in Cameroon analyzed their viral load, CD4 count, and the genetic variations of HIV in their plasma and DNA to understand ART failure.
- Results showed a high prevalence of drug resistance mutations in plasma compared to DNA, highlighting significant genetic concordance but also revealing specific vulnerabilities in treatment efficacy among these adolescents.