Clinically significant depressive symptoms and sexual behaviour among men who have sex with men.

Background: The relationship between depression and sexual behaviour among men who have sex with men (MSM) is poorly understood.

Aims: To investigate prevalence and correlates of depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 score ≥10) and the relationship between depressive symptoms and sexual behaviour among MSM reporting recent sex.

Method: The Attitudes to and Understanding of Risk of Acquisition of HIV (AURAH) is a cross-sectional study of UK genitourinary medicine clinic attendees without diagnosed HIV (2013-2014).

A systematic review of the screening accuracy of the HIV Dementia Scale and International HIV Dementia Scale.

Background: The HIV Dementia Scale (HDS) and International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS) are brief tools that have been developed to screen for and aid diagnosis of HIV-associated dementia (HAD). They are increasingly being used in clinical practice for minor neurocognitive disorder (MND) as well as HAD, despite uncertainty about their accuracy.

Methods And Findings: A systematic review of the accuracy of the HDS and IHDS was conducted.

Blockade of immunosuppressive cytokines restores NK cell antiviral function in chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

NK cells are enriched in the liver, constituting around a third of intrahepatic lymphocytes. We have previously demonstrated that they upregulate the death ligand TRAIL in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection (CHB), allowing them to kill hepatocytes bearing TRAIL receptors. In this study we investigated whether, in addition to their pathogenic role, NK cells have antiviral potential in CHB.

Temporal analysis of early immune responses in patients with acute hepatitis B virus infection.

Background & Aims: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes more than 1 million deaths annually from immune-mediated liver damage. The long incubation period has been difficult to study; by the time most patients present, massive viremia and the majority of viral clearance have already occurred. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of innate and adaptive immune mechanisms in early acute HBV through access to an unusual cohort of patients sampled in the preclinical phase and followed up to resolution of their infection.

Bim-mediated deletion of antigen-specific CD8 T cells in patients unable to control HBV infection.

HBV-specific CD8(+) T cells are critical for a successful immune response to HBV infection. They are markedly diminished in number in patients who fail to control the virus, but the mechanisms resulting in their depletion remain ill defined. Here, we dissected the defective HBV-specific CD8(+) T cell response associated with chronic HBV infection by gene expression profiling.

Presence of hepatitis B virus core promoter mutations pre-seroconversion predict persistent viral replication after HBeAg loss.

Background: In patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection DNA levels do not always fall after anti-hepatitis B e (anti-HBe) seroconversion.

Objectives: To follow longitudinally through HB e antigen (HBeAg) loss HBV DNA levels and core promoter/precore sequences in a cohort of 21 chronic HBV carriers.

Study Design: Treatment-naïve HBeAg seropositive HBV carriers were monitored through HBeAg loss for between 2 and 22 years (mean 9.

Effect of HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy on hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific T cell responses in patients who have resolved HBV infection.

Coinfection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is a common occurrence in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients and an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality. The CD8(+) T cell response is critical for long-term control of HBV in patients resolving acute infection. Here, we examine the effect of HIV on HBV-specific CD8(+) T cell responses in patients who have resolved HBV infection.

Reconstitution of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific T cell responses with treatment of human immunodeficiency virus/HBV coinfection.

Liver-related mortality is an increasing problem in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/hepatitis B virus (HBV)-coinfected patients receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). In HIV-negative patients, HBV chronicity is associated with a reduction in specific T cell responses that can be partially restored by treatment with lamivudine. We studied 5 HIV/HBV-coinfected patients treated with HAART, either with or without addition of a drug with specific anti-HBV activity.

Evidence for a dynamic host-parasite relationship in e-negative hepatitis B carriers.

Anti-hepatitis Be (HBe) carriers are perceived as having low infectivity, with hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels far below those seen in the HBeAg carrier. However, the temporal stability of HBV DNA in anti-HBe carriers remains poorly characterised. UK Department of Health guidelines use HBV DNA levels to define whether HBV-infected health care workers may perform exposure-prone procedures.