Extracellular vesicles in infectious diseases - importance and perspectives.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are mother cell derived transport units released into the extracellular environment. They are a new pillar of intercellular communication as they carry nucleic acids, proteins, and other signalling molecules, protecting them from degradation in the extracellular environment until fusion of the vesicle with the target cell. The transport mechanism relies on surface structures involved in cell adhesion.

[Implications of highly suppressive treatment HIV infection].

Treatment of HIV infection has modified the initially fatal infection into a typically chronic disease requiring lifelong treatment. However, there is no complete normalization of immune activation, signs of inflammation and prothrombotic state in treated patients. This condition is the result of many factors, but the main cause is thought to be the residual production of HIV-1 RNA and viral proteins by infected cells in cellular reservoirs.

[Cytomegalovirus coinfection].

The rapid advancement of modern pharmacological and surgical therapeutic interventions is often accompanied by potential disruptions to the immune system, both permanent and transient. Consequently, life-threatening infectious complications may emerge, which were either absent or exceedingly rare in the past. Observational studies have identified pneumocystis and cytomegalovirus pneumonia as one of the most prevalent coinfections.

[Pneumocystis pneumonia].

In parallel with the introduction of modern therapeutic and pharmacological interventions that have successfully resolved many diseases and conditions, previously deemed incompatible with life, there has been a significant increase in the number of patients experiencing secondary immunodeficiency. As a result, these patients are highly susceptible to various opportunistic infections. Among these infections, pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) stands out as one of the most frequent and potentially life-threatening ones, necessitating prompt diagnosis and treatment.

HIV-positive Ukrainian refugees in the Czech Republic.

Objective: Over 480 000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in the Czech Republic since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including over 500 people with HIV. This study describes the demographics, characteristics, and management of Ukrainian refugees with HIV in the Czech Republic.

Design: Retrospective, observational, noninterventional study.

Current hepatitis C therapy.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is still a major cause of chronic liver diseases, with approximately 71 million chronically infected persons worldwide. People who inject drugs currently or in the past (PWID), mostly intravenously, are the main risk group among HCV chronically infected persons. The efficacy of therapy with direct acting antivirals (DAA) is almost 100 %.

[Dual or triple combination antiretrovirals?].

Since the beginning of the antiretroviral therapy (ART) era, its extraordinary effect in terms of morbidity and mortality has been linked to a three-drug combination HIV treatment strategy, which has been perceived as a constant paradigm for many years. However, epidemiological studies over the past decade have clearly shown that ART does not result in complete normalization of all biomarkers, and some degree of systemic immune activation and inflammation, including endothelial dysfunction, persist. It is generally accepted that these pathophysiological processes are the cause of non-AIDS diseases, which are clinically manifested in people living with HIV on average 10 years earlier than in the general HIV-negative population.

[Hepatitis D screening is important in the Czech Republic as well].

Only patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) can contract hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection, either simultaneously (co-infection) or as a superinfection in those already infected with HBV. The routes of HDV transmission are contaminated needles or transfusion; sexual and vertical transmissions are relatively rare. Chronic hepatitis D is the most serious form of chronic viral hepatitis due to more rapid progression to decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Circulating microparticles in patients with chronic hepatitis C and changes during direct-acting antiviral therapy.

Background: Microparticles (MPs) are heterogeneous vesicles derived from membranes of different cells. Between 70 to 90% of MPs detected in blood originate from platelets. The release of MPs is associated with proinflammatory and procoagulant states.

[Cost-effectiveness analysis for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in a high-risk population in the Czech Republic].

Objectives: To assess the cost-effectiveness of pharmacological pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) using a combination of emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (FTC/TDF) with respect to HIV transmission in high-risk patients in the Czech Republic.

Material And Methods: A pharmacoeconomic model was constructed to compare costs and outcomes in a cohort with and without PrEP. Initially, a decision tree is used to evaluate short-term benefits of PrEP (proportion of HIV-infected individuals), followed by Markov cycles to simulate the course of the disease based on CD4 lymphocyte counts.

[Guidelines for treating HIV-infected adults and post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV infection].

Antiretroviral therapy represents an essential element in the approach to treatment and prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). It has changed the fatal disease to a manageable chronic condition and is the most effective prevention of its human-to-human transmission. Knowledge regarding biological characteristics of the virus, its behavior in a human host and our understanding of these phenomena have been extended by clinical experience, new clinical data and recent scientific progress.

Increasing procoagulant activity of circulating microparticles in patients living with HIV.

Objectives: HIV-infected individuals are at higher risk of non-AIDS diseases associated with procoagulant status. Microparticles are elevated in disorders associated with thrombosis (e.g.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy - epidemiology, immune response, clinical differences, treatment.

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a severe disease of the central nervous system with very high mortality. It is caused by the JC virus with high seroprevalence, at up to 80%. Development of PML is typically opportunistic, particularly in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and usually affects patients with profound immunodeficiency.

[HIV infection - a new disease of internal medicine].

Modern antiretroviral treatment belongs to the greatest success of current medicine. HIV infection has gone from a death sentence to a manageable chronic disease which develops several decades. Thanks to treatment advances, people with HIV can and do live long and full lives.

[Tenofovir alafenamide fumarate - a new generation of tenofovir].

Antiretroviral therapy as a life-long treatment has to meet the criteria of maximum efficiency while maintaining the highest possible level of safety and tolerance. Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is an antiretroviral drug with an excellent effect of virological suppression. However, some patients can over time develop clinically significant nephrotoxicity or bone loss.

[Guidelines for caring for HIV-infected adults and post-exposure prophylaxis of HIV infection].

Presented are general principles of care for HIV-infected persons following their admission to an AIDS care center, initiation of antiretroviral therapy and follow-up. Scientific research, drug development and new clinical data in recent years have led to a change in certain therapeutic perspectives and preferences for the treatment of HIV infection. Certain conditions are better specified, which affect the choice of antiretroviral regimens.

[Simplification - higher effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy].

An essential precondition for antiretroviral treatment is the deep viral suppression that may be attained only by the long-term and full adherence of the patient. Non-adherence and irregular drug use increase the risk of the selection of resistant HIV mutants and the unfavorable clinical consequences of continuous virus replication. The risks of virologic failure, disease progression and death increase.

[Guidelines for caring for HIV-infected adults and postexposure prophylaxis for HIV infection].

The authors present instructions for providing antiretroviral therapy in the Czech health care system, based partly on recommendations from abroad and partly on their own experiences of caring for HIV /AIDS patients. The structure and content are similar to those in the 2010 edition, with new study outcomes and modern trends in treatment strategy being taken into consideration. The guidelines are based on systematic patient assessment and aimed at making an accurate diagnosis and formulating recommendations according to individual criteria.

[RILPIVIRINE -- a novel HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor].

The article summarizes the basic facts about the pharmacokinetic profile, metabolism and drug interactions of rilpivirine (RPV). This is the latest orally administered second-generation non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) for antiretroviral-naive patients with HIV-1 infection. Conformational flexibility and adaptability are the factors that dominantly determine the high resistance barrier of RPV and are the unique features of diarylpyrimidine inhibitors (DAPY inhibitors - 2nd generation NNRTIs).

Acute toxoplasmosis-etiological factor for development of Hodgkin's lymphoma?

The case of an HIV-positive man treated for acute toxoplasmosis with no traces of malignancy is reported. A second lymph node extirpation was performed after 5 months, which identified the presence of Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells. This case suggests that toxoplasmosis may cause changes in the regulation of surrounding cells and induce neoplastic proliferation.

[Polymicrobial brain abscess in hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (Osler's disease)].

History And Admission Findings: A 38-year-old woman who suffered from migraine was admitted because of severe, worsening headache for 24 hours (dissimilar to the previous migraine attacks), with impaired vision and weakness of the right arm. Mild hemiparesis and expressive aphasia indicated an intracranial tumor.

Investigations: Cranial computed tomography revealed a focal lesion with a diameter of 2.

Ascorbic acid: an old player with a broad impact on body physiology including oxidative stress suppression and immunomodulation: a review.

Ascorbic acid is a low molecular weight antioxidant well known as anti-scorbut acting vitamin C in humans, primates and guinea pigs. This review summarizes basic data about ascorbic acid in its physiological action point of view. It is divided into biochemistry of ascorbic acid synthesis, mechanism of antioxidant action and participation in anabolism, pharmacokinetics and excretion, exogenous ascorbic acid immunomodulatory effect and participation in infectious diseases, impact on irradiation and intoxication pathogenesis, and supplementary demands.

Prevalence of human leukocyte antigen HLA-B*57:01 in HIV-infected subjects in the Czech Republic.

The HLA-B*57:01 allele is associated with a hypersensitivity reaction to abacavir, and its prevalence varies in different populations. The aim of the study was to investigate HLA-B*57:01 prevalence in the Czech HIV-infected population. HLA-B*57:01 prevalence in our cohort was 5.

[Disseminated infection with Mycobacterium avium in a patient with newly diagnosed HIV infection].

In the Czech Republic, mycobacteriosis is relatively rare. The low incidence probably reflects high BCG coverage rates in the Czech population. Globally, the importance of BCG vaccine has been increasing, as a result of acquired immunodeficiencies, particularly HIV infection.