Thalidomide is Associated With Increased T Cell Activation and Inflammation in Antiretroviral-naive HIV-infected Individuals in a Randomised Clinical Trial of Efficacy and Safety.

Trial Design: Open-label, randomised, controlled, pilot proof-of-concept clinical trial.

Methods: Participants: Antiretroviral naïve adult males with CD4 count ≥350cells/mm.

Interventions: Patients were randomised to receive thalidomide 200mg QD for 3weeks (Thalidomide group) or not (Control group) and followed for 48weeks.

Prevalence of transmitted HIV-1 antiretroviral resistance among patients initiating antiretroviral therapy in Brazil: a surveillance study using dried blood spots.

Introduction: In Brazil, the use of antiretrovirals is widespread: more than 260,000 individuals are currently undergoing treatment. We conducted a survey targeting antiretroviral-naïve individuals who were initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) according to local guidelines. This survey covered five Brazilian regions.

HIV-1 resistance testing influences treatment decision-making.

Objective: To investigates how the use of HIV-1 resistance tests influences physician decision-making.

Methods: Ten experienced reference physicians from the Brazilian Network for Drug Resistance each received ten patients' case histories. The selected patients had experienced at least two virological failures.

Limited penetration of lopinavir and ritonavir in the genital tract of men infected with HIV-1 in Brazil.

The concentrations of lopinavir and ritonavir in seminal and blood plasma and the seminal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) viral load were quantified by HPLC and the Nuclisens assay, respectively, in a cross-sectional study of 16 HIV-1-infected Brazilian men under stable treatment with a lopinavir/ritonavir containing antiretroviral regimen. Semen and blood samples were collected on 2 occasions: at 6 to 60 minutes before ("trough"), and 5 to 6 hours after ("peak") ingestion of regular doses of lopinavir/ritonavir. Median seminal lopinavir levels were 120.