Prognostic significance of the interval between the initiation of antiretroviral therapy and the initiation of anti-tuberculosis treatment in HIV/tuberculosis-coinfected patients: results from the TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database.

Objectives: We evaluated the effect of the time interval between the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the initiation of tuberculosis (TB) treatment on clinical outcomes in HIV/TB-coinfected patients in an Asian regional cohort.

Methods: Adult HIV/TB-coinfected patients in an observational HIV-infected cohort database who had a known date of ART initiation and a history of TB treatment were eligible for study inclusion. The time interval between the initiation of ART and the initiation of TB treatment was categorized as follows: TB diagnosed while on ART, ART initiated ≤ 90 days after initiation of TB treatment ('early ART'), ART initiated > 90 days after initiation of TB treatment ('delayed ART'), and ART not started.

Characterizing HIV manifestations and treatment outcomes of perinatally infected adolescents in Asia.

Background: More perinatally HIV-infected children in Asia are reaching adolescence.

Methods: We analyzed data from July 1991 to March 2011 reported by 18 clinics in 6 countries of children age >12 years.

Results: Of 1254 adolescents, 33 (2.

Economic burden of acute coronary syndrome in South Korea: a national survey.

Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is highly prevalent in Korea and is the third-leading cause of death in Korea; however, the economic cost of ACS on Korean society has not been investigated. This study examined the economic effect of ACS on the Korean population during the period 2004 to 2009.

Methods: The analysis used the cost of illness (COI) framework.

Pre-exposure to ethanol, but not to caffeine and nicotine, induced place preference and self-administration of the NMDA receptor antagonist-benzodiazepine combination, Zoletil®.

Zoletil® is an equal amount combination of the NMDA receptor antagonist, tiletamine, and the benzodiazepine, zolazepam, usually used as a veterinary anesthetic. Previous studies have shown that pre-exposure to Zoletil® and other psychoactive drugs (e.g.

Capacity building and predictors of success for HIV-1 drug resistance testing in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa.

Background: The TREAT Asia Quality Assessment Scheme (TAQAS) was developed as a quality assessment programme through expert education and training, for laboratories in the Asia-Pacific and Africa that perform HIV drug-resistance (HIVDR) genotyping. We evaluated the programme performance and factors associated with high-quality HIVDR genotyping.

Methods: Laboratories used their standard protocols to test panels of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive plasma samples or electropherograms.

Comparisons of Primary HIV-1 Drug Resistance between Recent and Chronic HIV-1 Infection within a Sub-Regional Cohort of Asian Patients.

Background: The emergence and transmission of HIV-1 drug resistance (HIVDR) has raised concerns after rapid global antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up. There are limited data on the epidemiology of primary HIVDR in resource-limited settings in Asia. We aimed to determine the prevalence and compare the distribution of HIVDR in a cohort of ART-naïve Asian patients with recent and chronic HIV-1 infection.

The changing epidemiology of the global paediatric HIV epidemic: keeping track of perinatally HIV-infected adolescents.

The global paediatric HIV epidemic is shifting into a new phase as children on antiretroviral therapy (ART) move into adolescence and adulthood, and face new challenges of living with HIV. UNAIDS reports that 3.4 million children aged below 15 years and 2 million adolescents aged between 10 and 19 years have HIV.

Ritonavir-boosted lopinavir plus nucleoside or nucleotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors versus ritonavir-boosted lopinavir plus raltegravir for treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults with virological failure of a standard first-line ART regimen (SECOND-LINE): a randomised, open-label, non-inferiority study.

Background: Uncertainty exists about the best treatment for people with HIV-1 who have virological failure with first-line combination antiretroviral therapy of a non-nucleoside analogue (NNRTI) plus two nucleoside or nucleotide analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NtRTI). We compared a second-line regimen combining two new classes of drug with a WHO-recommended regimen.

Methods: We did this 96-week, phase 3b/4, randomised, open-label non-inferiority trial at 37 sites worldwide.

Incidence and predictors of severe anemia in Asian HIV-infected children using first-line antiretroviral therapy.

Background: There are limited data on treatment-related anemia in Asian HIV-infected children.

Methods: Data from Asian HIV-infected children aged <18 years on first-line highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) were used. Children who had pre-existing severe anemia at baseline were excluded.

Comparable performance of conventional and liquid-based cytology in diagnosing anal intraepithelial neoplasia in HIV-infected and -uninfected Thai men who have sex with men.

Background: Anal cytology has increasingly been used to screen for anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) among men who have sex with men (MSM) at increased risk for anal cancer. Use of liquid-based cytology has been reported to reduce fecal and bacterial contamination and air-drying artifact compared with conventional cytology. Costs associated with liquid-based cytology, however, may limit its use in resource-limited settings.

Anal human papillomavirus infection among Thai men who have sex with men with and without HIV infection: prevalence, incidence, and persistence.

Background: HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) have a higher prevalence of anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and anal cancer incidence than HIV-negative MSM. High-risk HPV persistence is an important risk factor for the development of anal cancer.

Methods: A total of 123 HIV-positive and 123 HIV-negative MSM were enrolled from the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, and followed for 12 months.

Second-line protease inhibitor-based HAART after failing non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based regimens in Asian HIV-infected children.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends boosted protease inhibitor (bPI)-based HAART after failing non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) treatment. We examined outcomes of this regimen in Asian HIV-infected children.

Methods: Children from five Asian countries in the TREAT Asia Pediatric HIV Observational Database (TApHOD) with ≥ 24 weeks of NNRTI-based HAART followed by ≥ 24 weeks of bPI-based HAART were eligible.

Transmitted HIV drug resistance in Asia.

Purpose Of Review: Surveillance for transmitted HIV drug resistance is essential to assessing the longer term sustainability and durability of first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART). Increases in pre-ART resistance would compromise the ability to achieve optimal and durable treatment outcomes using currently recommended antiretrovirals.

Recent Findings: In the Asia region, many countries have conducted studies of transmitted resistance among recently HIV-infected and pre-ART patients.

Evaluating immunologic response and clinical deterioration in treatment-naive patients initiating first-line therapies infected with HIV-1 CRF01_AE and subtype B.

Background: HIV-1 group M viruses diverge 25%-35% in envelope, important for viral attachment during infection, and 10%-15% in the pol region, under selection pressure from common antiretrovirals. In Asia, subtypes B and CRF01_AE are common genotypes. Our objectives were to determine whether clinical, immunological, or virological treatment responses differed by genotype in treatment-naive patients initiating first-line therapy.

Use of Integra and interval brachytherapy in a 2-stage auricular reconstruction after excision of a recurrent keloid.

Keloids present a formidable clinical challenge. Surgical excision in conjunction with radiation therapy may decrease the chance of keloid recurrence. Split-thickness skin grafts, however, are more prone to failure in the setting of radiation.

Four principles for expanding PEPFAR's role as a vital force in US health diplomacy abroad.

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the leading platform for US health diplomacy and a symbol of American capacity to achieve constructive and beneficial change. The program now faces an evolving context for its work that includes, on the one hand, domestic fiscal pressures in the United States, but on the other, the potential for substantial gains against the AIDS epidemic around the world. Continued success in advancing America's humanitarian and diplomatic interests through global health requires the United States to maintain robust investments in PEPFAR; implement a strategic plan to achieve an AIDS-free generation; use the program as a foundation to strengthen health systems generally and enable them to address broader health issues, such as chronic and noncommunicable diseases; carefully manage the transition to country "ownership" of the fight against HIV; and achieve greater coherence in US government health-related policy.

Changes in Human Immunodeficiency Virusrelated Knowledge and Stigmatizing Attitudes among Korean Adolescents from 2006 to 2011.

Objectives: This study assessed the prevalence and changes of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) knowledge and stigmatizing attitudes in 2006, 2008, and 2011.

Methods: Three cross-sectional surveys were conducted in 2006, 2008, and 2011. A cross-sectional sample of high school students in Seoul, South Korea was targeted.

Differential behavioral responses of the spontaneously hypertensive rat to methylphenidate and methamphetamine: lack of a rewarding effect of repeated methylphenidate treatment.

Several questions remain unanswered concerning the effects of long-term methylphenidate treatment in individuals with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It has been speculated that repeated methylphenidate treatment may facilitate abuse of the drug or psychological dependence. In the present study, we conducted conditioned place preference (CPP) tests to investigate whether the repeated treatment of methylphenidate results to greater "liking" of the drug.

HIV/AIDS Knowledge, Stigmatizing Attitudes, and Related Behaviors and Factors that Affect Stigmatizing Attitudes against HIV/AIDS among Korean Adolescents.

Objectives: This study examined the sex differentials for specific aspects of knowledge regarding HIV, stigmatizing attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS (PWHAs) and sexual behavior. In addition, the factors that affect stigmatizing attitudes toward PWHAs were investigated.

Methods: The population of this study comprised of senior high students in Seoul, Korea.

Addiction research centres and the nurturing of creativity. The Korean Institute on Alcohol Problems (KIAP).

The aim of this paper is to provide an account of the history, current status and vision of the Korean Institute on Alcohol Problems (KIAP). In the context of increasing alcohol consumption, rising second-hand effects and industry-friendly government policy, the Korean College Alcohol Study (KCAS) was established in the Republic of Korea in 1999, and changed its name to the Korean Institute on Alcohol Problems (KIAP) in 2005. KIAP's mission is to decrease alcohol consumption and its related harms by promoting research, advocating policy, developing intervention programmes and preparing media communications.

Syntheses, structures, and magnetic characterizations of cyanide-bridged Fe(III)Mn(III) chains constructed by mer-Fe(III)tricyanide and Mn(III) Schiff bases: magnetostructural relationship.

Five Fe(III)Mn(III) bimetallic compounds [Fe(iqc)(CN)(3)][Mn(5-Xsalen)]·pMeOH·qMeCN·rH(2)O [Hiqc = N-(quinolin-8-yl)isoquinoline-1-carboxamide; salen = N,N'-ethylenebis(salicylideneiminato) dianion; X = H(2), F(3, 3a), Cl(4), Br(5)] were prepared by assembling a newly designed mer-Fe tricyanide (Ph(4)P)[Fe(iqc)(CN)(3)]·0.5H(2)O (1) and the respective Mn Schiff bases Mn(5-Xsalen)(+). Compounds 2-4 show linear chain structures in which trans-positioned cyanides of the Fe precursor bridge neighbouring Mn atoms, while 5 is a zigzag chain coordination polymer where two cyanide groups of the precursor in the cis mode act as bridges.

Methylphenidate treatment in the spontaneously hypertensive rat: influence on methylphenidate self-administration and reinstatement in comparison with Wistar rats.

Rationale: Methylphenidate is a psychostimulant given for extended periods of time as a treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The long-term effects of the drug are not yet known, and it is speculated that repeated exposure may produce drug dependence.

Objective: To investigate the effects of repeated methylphenidate treatment on methylphenidate self-administration and reinstatement in the most validated animal model of ADHD, the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), and Wistar rat, strain representing the "normal" heterogeneous population.

Eczema.

Atopic dermatitis, commonly known as eczema, is a common chronic, relapsing skin disease characterized by pruritus, disrupted epidermal barrier function, and immunoglobulin E-mediated sensitization to food and environmental allergens. Atopic dermatitis is a complex disease that arises from interactions between genes and the environment. Loci on several chromosomes have been identified, including a family of epithelium-related genes called the epidermal differentiation complex on chromosome 1q21.

Primary care of the liver transplant recipient.

Chronic rejection of liver graft is an insidious process. Major immunosuppression medications such as tacrolimus, cyclosporin, and sirolimus have dose-related toxicity and narrow therapeutic windows. Certain drugs can affect metabolism of calcineurin inhibitors.