HIV-1 Transmission During Recent Infection and During Treatment Interruptions as Major Drivers of New Infections in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study.

Background: Reducing the fraction of transmissions during recent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is essential for the population-level success of "treatment as prevention".

Methods: A phylogenetic tree was constructed with 19 604 Swiss sequences and 90 994 non-Swiss background sequences. Swiss transmission pairs were identified using 104 combinations of genetic distance (1%-2.

Hepatitis B viral load in dried blood spots: A validation study in Zambia.

Background: Access to hepatitis B viral load (VL) testing is poor in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) due to economic and logistical reasons.

Objectives: To demonstrate the feasibility of testing dried blood spots (DBS) for hepatitis B virus (HBV) VL in a laboratory in Lusaka, Zambia, and to compare HBV VLs between DBS and plasma samples.

Study Design: Paired plasma and DBS samples from HIV-HBV co-infected Zambian adults were analyzed for HBV VL using the COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HBV test (Version 2.

Meta-Analysis of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease.

The high coronary artery disease (CAD) prevalence in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is well known. However, the inverse relation has been little explored. We present, based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published evidence, a critical appraisal of the issue of AAA prevalence and also AAA predictive risk factors in patients with CAD, comparing it with AAA prevalence in subjects without CAD.

Do people with spinal cord injury meet the WHO recommendations on physical activity?

Objectives: To describe physical activity (PA) levels in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to investigate associated factors.

Methods: PA behavior of people with SCI in Switzerland was assessed in a community survey with four items from the Physical Activity Scale for individuals with physical disabilities (PA of light, moderate, and strenuous intensity and muscle-strengthening exercises). In addition to descriptive analyses, the odds of performing PA according to the WHO recommendations (at least 2.

Circulatory support devices: fundamental aspects and clinical management of bleeding and thrombosis.

Circulatory support devices are increasingly being used to overcome cardiac or respiratory failure. Long-term devices are used either as a 'bridge to transplant' to support patients who are unable to wait any longer for a heart transplant, or, more recently, as 'destination therapy' for older patients suffering from end-stage heart failure and who have contraindications to heart transplantation. Short-term support devices for high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention, or as a 'bridge for decision' for patients suffering from refractory cardiogenic shock, have also been developed.

Strong Impact of Smoking on Multimorbidity and Cardiovascular Risk Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Individuals in Comparison With the General Population.

Background.  Although acquired immune deficiency syndrome-associated morbidity has diminished due to excellent viral control, multimorbidity may be increasing among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected persons compared with the general population. Methods.

Ribavirin Concentrations Do Not Predict Sustained Virological Response in HIV/HCV-Coinfected Patients Treated with Ribavirin and Pegylated Interferon in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study.

Background: Ribavirin (RBV) is an essential component of most current hepatitis C (HCV) treatment regimens and still standard of care in the combination with pegylated interferon (pegIFN) to treat chronic HCV in resource limited settings. Study results in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients are contradicting as to whether RBV concentration correlates with sustained virological response (SVR).

Methods: We included 262 HCV treatment naïve HIV/HCV-coinfected Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) participants treated with RBV and pegIFN between 01.

Molecular Analyses Define Vα7.2-Jα33+ MAIT Cell Depletion in HIV Infection: A Case-Control Study.

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are an abundant antibacterial innate-like lymphocyte population. There are conflicting reports as to their fate in HIV infection. The objective of this study was to determine whether MAIT cells are truly depleted in HIV infection.

Increases in Condomless Sex in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study.

Condomless sex is a key driver of sexually transmitted diseases. In this study, we assess the long-term changes (2000-2013) of the occurrence of condomless sex among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals enrolled in the Swiss HIV Cohort study. The frequencies with which HIV-infected individuals reported condomless sex were either stable or only weakly increasing for 2000-2008.

A Lead-In with Silibinin Prior to Triple-Therapy Translates into Favorable Treatment Outcomes in Difficult-To-Treat HIV/Hepatitis C Coinfected Patients.

Background: The efficacy of first-generation protease inhibitor based triple-therapy against hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is limited in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with advanced liver fibrosis and non-response to previous peginterferon-ribavirin. These patients have a low chance of achieving a sustained virologic response (SVR) using first generation triple-therapy, with a success rate of only 20%. We investigated the efficacy and safety of lead-in therapy with intravenous silibinin followed by triple-therapy in this difficult-to-treat patient group.

N(8)-acetylspermidine as a potential plasma biomarker for Snyder-Robinson syndrome identified by clinical metabolomics.

Clinical metabolomics has emerged as a powerful tool to study human metabolism in health and disease. Comparative statistical analysis of untargeted metabolic profiles can reveal perturbations of metabolite levels in diseases and thus has the potential to identify novel biomarkers. Here we have applied a simultaneous genetic-metabolomic approach in twin boys with epileptic encephalopathy of unclear etiology.

Protease inhibitors to treat hepatitis C in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study: high efficacy but low treatment uptake.

Objectives: Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) have become the standard of care for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We aimed to assess treatment uptake and efficacy in routine clinical settings among HIV/HCV coinfected patients after the introduction of the first generation DAAs.

Methods: Data on all Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) participants starting HCV protease inhibitor (PI) treatment between September 2011 and August 2013 were collected prospectively.

Prosodic and semantic affect perception in remitted patients with bipolar I disorder.

Objective: Bipolar disorder is associated with impairments in emotion processing that are present during both mood episodes and periods of remission. In this context, most previous studies have investigated facial emotion recognition abilities. In contrast, the current study focused on the perception of prosodic and semantic affect.

Incident Hepatitis C Virus Infections in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study: Changes in Treatment Uptake and Outcomes Between 1991 and 2013.

Background.  The hepatitis C virus (HCV) epidemic is evolving rapidly in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We aimed to describe changes in treatment uptake and outcomes of incident HCV infections before and after 2006, the time-point at which major changes in HCV epidemic became apparent.

M1 and M2 macrophage proteolytic and angiogenic profile analysis in atherosclerotic patients reveals a distinctive profile in type 2 diabetes.

This study aimed to investigate atherosclerotic mediators' expression levels in M1 and M2 macrophages and to focus on the influence of diabetes on M1/M2 profiles. Macrophages from 36 atherosclerotic patients (19 diabetics and 17 non-diabetics) were cultured with interleukin-1β (IL-1β) or IL-4 to induce M1 or M2 phenotype, respectively. The atherosclerotic mediators' expression was evaluated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

PDE3A mutations cause autosomal dominant hypertension with brachydactyly.

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide, and hypertension is the major risk factor. Mendelian hypertension elucidates mechanisms of blood pressure regulation. Here we report six missense mutations in PDE3A (encoding phosphodiesterase 3A) in six unrelated families with mendelian hypertension and brachydactyly type E (HTNB).

Molecular Diversity and Associated Phenotypic Spectrum of Germline CBL Mutations.

Noonan syndrome (NS) is a relatively common developmental disorder with a pleomorphic phenotype. Mutations causing NS alter genes encoding proteins involved in the RAS-MAPK pathway. We and others identified Casitas B-lineage lymphoma proto-oncogene (CBL), which encodes an E3-ubiquitin ligase acting as a tumor suppressor in myeloid malignancies, as a disease gene underlying a condition clinically related to NS.

High hepatic and extrahepatic mortality and low treatment uptake in HCV-coinfected persons in the Swiss HIV cohort study between 2001 and 2013.

Background & Aims: The landscape of HCV treatments is changing dramatically. At the beginning of this new era, we highlight the challenges for HCV therapy by assessing the long-term epidemiological trends in treatment uptake, efficacy and mortality among HIV/HCV-coinfected people since the availability of HCV therapy.

Methods: We included all SHCS participants with detectable HCV RNA between 2001 and 2013.

A Genome-Wide Perspective on Metabolism.

Mammals have at least 210 histologically diverse cell types (Alberts, Molecular biology of the cell. Garland Science, New York, 2008) and the number would be even higher if functional differences are taken into account. The genome in each of these cell types is differentially programmed to express the specific set of genes needed to fulfill the phenotypical requirements of the cell.

A severe congenital myasthenic syndrome with "dropped head" caused by novel MUSK mutations.

Introduction: Congenital myasthenic syndromes are rare. Mutations in MUSK were first described in 2004. Thirteen patients have been reported to date, mostly with a relatively mild course.

Mutations in XRCC4 cause primary microcephaly, short stature and increased genomic instability.

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are highly toxic lesions, which, if not properly repaired, can give rise to genomic instability. Non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), a well-orchestrated, multistep process involving numerous proteins essential for cell viability, represents one major pathway to repair DSBs in mammalian cells, and mutations in different NHEJ components have been described in microcephalic syndromes associated, e.g.

[Psychosocial working conditions and mental health status of the German babyboomer generation].

Background: The baby boomers are the first to be available to the German labour market up to the age of 67. A crucial premise for a long working life is good health. However, there is evidence that psychosocial working conditions are related to health.

Obesity Trends and Body Mass Index Changes After Starting Antiretroviral Treatment: The Swiss HIV Cohort Study.

Background: The factors that contribute to increasing obesity rates in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive persons and to body mass index (BMI) increase that typically occurs after starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) are incompletely characterized.

Methods: We describe BMI trends in the entire Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) population and investigate the effects of demographics, HIV-related factors, and ART on BMI change in participants with data available before and 4 years after first starting ART.

Results: In the SHCS, overweight/obesity prevalence increased from 13% in 1990 (n = 1641) to 38% in 2012 (n = 8150).