Determinants of testing for HIV among young people in Uganda. A nested, explanatory-sequential study.

Awareness of HIV serostatus helps individuals calibrate behaviour or link to care. Globally, young people (15-24years) contribute over 30% of new HIV infections. Despite progress in enhancing access to HIV services, HIV testing among young people in Uganda is below target.

Red blood cell blood group A antigen level affects the ability of heparin and PfEMP1 antibodies to disrupt Plasmodium falciparum rosettes.

Background: The histo-blood group ABO system has been associated with adverse outcomes in COVID-19, thromboembolic diseases and Plasmodium falciparum malaria. An integral part of the severe malaria pathogenesis is rosetting, the adherence of parasite infected red blood cells (RBCs) to uninfected RBCs. Rosetting is influenced by the host's ABO blood group (Bg) and rosettes formed in BgA have previously been shown to be more resilient to disruption by heparin and shield the parasite derived surface antigens from antibodies.

Evasion of Immunity to Plasmodium falciparum: Rosettes of Blood Group A Impair Recognition of PfEMP1.

The ABO blood group antigens are expressed on erythrocytes but also on endothelial cells, platelets and serum proteins. Notably, the ABO blood group of a malaria patient determines the development of the disease given that blood group O reduces the probability to succumb in severe malaria, compared to individuals of groups A, B or AB. P.

Genetic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum infections in mild and severe malaria of children from Kampala, Uganda.

Diversity in parasite virulence is one of the factors that contribute to the clinical outcome of malaria infections. The association between the severity of Plasmodium falciparum malaria and the number of distinct parasite populations infecting the host (multiplicity of infection) or polymorphism within any of the specific antigen genes was investigated. The study included 164 children presenting with mild and severe malaria from central Uganda where malaria is meso-endemic.

Elevated levels of high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) in patients with severe or uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria.

Severe malaria is characterized by a massive release of proinflammatory cytokines in the context of sequestration of parasitized and normal red cells (RBCs). High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a DNA- and heparin-binding protein that also acts as a cytokine when released from cells in the extracellular milieu after a proinflammatory stimulus. In this study, we have measured the circulating levels of HMGB1 in 76 children with severe or uncomplicated malaria.

Detection of copy number variation and single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes involved in drug resistance and other phenotypic traits in P. falciparum clinical isolates collected from Uganda.

There is an increasing interest in mapping the genes of pathogens which underlie important phenotypic traits such as virulence and drug resistance. The Plasmodium falciparum genome exhibits sequence variation that contributes to the pathogenic mechanisms of the parasite. Determining the prevalence of resistance markers could provide a prediction about drug efficacy.

Clinical presentation of bipolar mania in HIV-positive patients in Uganda.

Background: Secondary mania in HIV-positive individuals has been well documented; however, cases of bipolar mania in HIV infection occur, as well.

Objective: This is the first controlled study of the demographic and clinical characteristics of bipolar mania and secondary mania in persons with HIV/AIDS in Uganda and Africa.

Method: Patients were consecutively recruited from the adult psychiatric wards of Makerere University (Uganda) teaching hospitals.

Primary mania versus HIV-related secondary mania in Uganda.

Objective: The authors hypothesized that in the majority of HIV-positive patients presenting with mania, the mania is secondary to HIV infection and that its presentation and correlates differ from those of HIV-negative patients with primary mania.

Method: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted with HIV-negative and HIV-positive patients admitted to psychiatric wards with acute mania. The authors compared the patients' psychiatric, physical, and immunological (CD4 cell counts) and other laboratory parameters.