Detection of Treponema pallidum Sp. Pallidum DNA in Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) by Two PCR Techniques.

Background: Laboratory diagnosis of neurosyphilis is complicated especially when it is asymptomatic, no single laboratory test result being appropriate to diagnose central nervous system infectivity caused by Treponema pallidum. Our objective was to evaluate two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques for the detection of T. pallidum DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with syphilis.

HIV-2 integrase polymorphisms and longitudinal genotypic analysis of HIV-2 infected patients failing a raltegravir-containing regimen.

To characterize the HIV-2 integrase gene polymorphisms and the pathways to resistance of HIV-2 patients failing a raltegravir-containing regimen, we studied 63 integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI)-naïve patients, and 10 heavily pretreated patients exhibiting virological failure while receiving a salvage raltegravir-containing regimen. All patients were infected by HIV-2 group A. 61.

The demise of multidrug-resistant HIV-1: the national time trend in Portugal.

Objectives: Despite a decreasing mortality and morbidity in treated HIV-1 patients, highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) can still fail due to the development of drug resistance. Especially, multidrug-resistant viruses pose a threat to efficient therapy. We studied the changing prevalence of multidrug resistance (MDR) over time in a cohort of HIV-1-infected patients in Portugal.

Acute encephalitis as initial presentation of primary HIV infection.

Acute encephalitis is a life-threatening condition. A wide variety of infectious agents are implicated and in many patients no cause is found. HIV acute seroconversion illness can rarely present as acute encephalitis.

Virologic suppression in treatment-experienced patients after virologic rebound or failure of therapy.

Purpose Of Review: To discuss factors related to virologic failure and review data from recent clinical trials evaluating re-suppression of viremia in extensively-treated HIV-infected patients with resistance.

Recent Findings: Factors associated with virologic failure can be related to the virus (e.g.

Evaluation of the Treponema pallidum particle agglutination technique (TP.PA) in the diagnosis of neurosyphilis.

The Treponema pallidum particle agglutination technique (TP.PA) was evaluated, in comparison with the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test, microhemagglutination assay for Treponema pallidum antibodies (MHA-TP), and fluorescent treponemal antibody-ABS (FTA-Abs) test for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis. We have studied 198 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with syphilis, including neurosyphilis, treated syphilis, and with other neurological manifestations than neurosyphilis.