Publications by authors named "Nuria Perez Alvarez"

Objectives: Identifying profiles of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and explore their association with different degrees of severity of COVID-19 outcomes (i.e. in-hospital mortality, ICU assistance, and invasive mechanical ventilation).

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Background: Advanced kidney disease is an emerging problem in people living with HIV despite sustained viral suppression.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study to identify people living with HIV with advanced kidney disease according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria and to assess disease progression over a 48-week period following the offer of targeted multidisciplinary management.

Results: From our cohort of 3090 individuals, 55 (1.

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Optimal management of cardiovascular disease should start with the identification of subjects at subclinical stages. However, available tools are not always accurate or affordable. We assess the usefulness of ultrasound-guided measurement of abdominal fat layers as a surrogate marker of cardiovascular risk.

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Article Synopsis
  • INSTIs are crucial in current HIV treatment but their effects on brain health are not well understood.
  • A study compared cognitive and brain function outcomes in men with HIV starting INSTI therapy within 3 months versus after 6 months of infection, alongside a control group.
  • Findings showed no significant cognitive differences between the two HIV groups after 48 weeks, but those diagnosed earlier had poorer functional status initially, which improved over time; however, later initiators had more decline in a specific brain area linked to decision-making.
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Objective: Optimization of antiretroviral therapy and anti-inflammatory treatments, such as statins, are among the strategies aimed at reducing metabolic disorders, inflammation and immune activation in people living with HIV (PLWH). We evaluated the potential benefit of combining both strategies.

Design: Forty-two PLWH aged ≥40 years receiving a protease inhibitor (PI)-based regimen were randomized (1:1) to switch from PI to Raltegravir (n = 20), or to remain on PI (n = 22).

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Aims: To determine the prevalence of potential prescribing issues (PPI) in HIV-infected subjects aged ≥65 years according to the Beers and STOPP/START criteria and antiretroviral drug-drug interactions (Liverpool website). Secondary objectives were to assess the concordance between Beers and STOPP/START criteria in our population, and to identify the drugs most frequently involved in PPI.

Methods: Cross-sectional cohort study based on a systematic review of the electronic drug prescriptions confirmed by an interview of 91 HIV-infected patients aged ≥65 years.

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Our primary objective was to assess the independent association between liver fibrosis (LF) and abdominal fat accumulation (AFA) and fatty liver disease (FLD). We also aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of AFA and FLD for the prediction of cirrhosis measured using unenhanced low-dose computed tomography (CT). This is a cross-sectional study in stable human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis C virus (HCV)-coinfected patients with active HCV replication.

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Background: Strong and broad antiviral T-cell responses targeting vulnerable sites of HIV-1 will likely be a critical component for any effective cure strategy.

Methods: BCN01 trial was a phase I, open-label, non-randomized, multicenter study in HIV-1-positive individuals diagnosed and treated during early HIV-1 infection to evaluate two vaccination regimen arms, which differed in the time (8 versus 24 week) between the ChAdV63.HIVconsv prime and MVA.

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Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of darunavir/cobicistat (DRV/c) monotherapy as an antiretroviral treatment simplification strategy in HIV-infected patients already on suppressive darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r) monotherapy in routine clinical practice. We conducted a retrospective multicenter study including all adult patients switched from DRV/r monotherapy to DRV/c monotherapy while HIV-1 RNA was <50 copies/mL and who had at least one follow-up visit. The primary endpoint was the percentage of patients remaining free of treatment failure (TF), defined as discontinuation of monotherapy for any reason, including loss of follow-up.

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The NEUrocognitive (NEU) Screen is a practical tool proposed to screen for HIV-associated cognitive impairment in the clinical setting. This is a pencil-and-paper method that can be applied rapidly (≤10 minutes for administration) and has no copyright limitations. In this study, we aimed at investigating its diagnostic accuracy in an older population of persons living with HIV (PLWH), with cutoffs set at 30, 40, 50, and 60 years.

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Background: Osteoporotic fractures still remain very infrequent and physicians rarely evaluate bone health. We wanted to assess the magnitude of this problem in the near future by determining the risk and likelihood of progression to osteoporosis.

Methods: We estimated the risk of progression to osteopenia/osteoporosis among HIV-infected patients with at least 2 DXA scans (3726 scans from 875 patients).

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The most relevant endpoint in therapeutic HIV vaccination is the assessment of time to viral rebound or duration of sustained control of low-level viremia upon cART treatment cessation. Structured treatment interruptions (STI) are however not without risk to the patient and reliable predictors of viral rebound/control after therapeutic HIV-1 vaccination are urgently needed to ensure patient safety and guide therapeutic vaccine development. Here, we integrated immunological and virological parameters together with viral rebound dynamics after STI in a phase I therapeutic vaccine trial of a polyvalent MVA-B vaccine candidate to define predictors of viral control.

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Prevalence of kidney disease (KD) is increasing among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected population. Different factors have been related, varying on different published series.The objectives were to study prevalence of KD in those patients, its evolution, and associated risk factors.

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Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of transdermal rivastigmine for the treatment of HIV-associated cognitive impairment.

Methods: We recruited HIV-infected patients with cognitive impairment on stable antiretroviral therapy in a randomized controlled pilot trial with a 48-week follow-up. An additional assessment was held at 12 weeks.

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Objectives: Liver fibrosis (LF) is crucial for the individualized management of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV). We evaluated the concordance between two noninvasive methods for staging LF, transient elastography (TE) and acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI), in patients coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus and HCV. We propose an algorithm for optimal use of both techniques in routine clinical practice.

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Background: Nyaditum resae® (NR) is a galenic preparation of heat-killed Mycobacterium manresensis, a new species of the fortuitum complex, that is found in drinkable water, and that has demonstrated to protect against the development of active TB in a murine experimental model that develop human-like lesions.

Methods: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Clinical Trial (51 volunteers included). Two different doses of NR and a placebo were tested, the randomization was stratified by Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI)-positive (n = 21) and LTBI-negative subjects (n = 30).

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. Prospective studies about the reversibility of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate- (TDF-) related renal impairment remain scarce. .

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Non-invasive in vivo diffuse optical characterization of human bone opens a new possibility of diagnosing bone related pathologies. We present an in vivo characterization performed on seventeen healthy subjects at six different superficial bone locations: radius distal, radius proximal, ulna distal, ulna proximal, trochanter and calcaneus. A tailored diffuse optical protocol for high penetration depth combined with the rather superficial nature of considered tissues ensured the effective probing of the bone tissue.

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The prevalence and associated factors of erectile dysfunction (ED) in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected men remain controversial. The authors evaluated ED, clinical, and emotional variables in a group of 501 HIV-infected men in a cross-sectional 4-month observational study. ED was assessed using the International Index of Erectile Function-5 and emotional status using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) questionnaire.

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Kidney injury (defined as the presence of albuminuria, proteinuria, glycosuria [without hyperglycemia], hematuria, and/or renal hypophosphatemia) is an emerging problem in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, although few data are available on the role of protease inhibitors (PIs) in this condition.To determine the time to kidney injury in a cohort of HIV-infected patients receiving a PI-containing regimen.We report the results of a subanalysis of a published cross-sectional study.

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Background: Extensively pretreated subjects with virological failure (VF) may receive salvage regimens containing NRTIs with only residual or no activity. Once virological suppression is achieved, their contribution remains elusive.

Methods: This was a multicentre, randomized, prospective study.

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Antiretroviral treatment simplification strategies based on monotherapy with darunavir/ritonavir (DRV/r) or lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) have not been directly compared in clinical trials. We evaluated the 48-week efficacy and safety of DRV/r versus LPV/r monotherapy as a treatment simplification strategy in a multicenter, randomized open-label study. Maintenance of viral suppression in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and semen was also explored.

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Resilience is a predictor of emotional well-being and psychological adjustment in people living with HIV infection. We report the results of a cross-sectional study in which we evaluated resilience and its association with perception of ageing, coping strategies, quality of life, and emotional status in a group of long-term diagnosed HIV-infected patients. The analysis included 151 consecutive participants (57.

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