A cross-sectional network analysis of successful aging in a resilience-based framework.

Aging inevitably gives rise to many challenges and transitions that can greatly impact our (mental) well-being and quality of life if these are not controlled adequately. Hence, the key to successful aging may not be the absence of these stressors, but the ability to demonstrate resilience against them. The current study set out to explore how resilience and successful aging may intersect by investigating how various resilience capacity-promoting (protective) and resilience capacity-reducing (risk) factors relate to mental well-being and quality of life.

Type of D-dimer assay determines the diagnostic yield of computed tomography in patients suspected for pulmonary embolism.

Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a life-threatening condition with high morbidity and mortality. The diagnosis of PE is challenging due to nonspecific symptoms, making reliable diagnostic tools essential. This study addresses the clinical impact of interassay variability in D-dimer measurements on the utilization and diagnostic yield of computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA).

The complexity of the interpretation of ELISA and RT-PCR results in the diagnosis of a reticuloendotheliosis virus infection: an extended case study.

Reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) is a species of the genus that can cause neoplasia, immunosuppression, and runting-stunting syndrome. To show the clinical relevance of REV is complicated, and requires the demonstration of the virus, REV antibodies, the presence of typical gross and microscopic lesions, and the exclusion of other oncogenic agents in the case of the presence of tumours. Under field conditions, the first tests to be used might be a commercially available REV antibody ELISA or an RT-PCR to detect the REV genome.

Elevations of Cardiac Troponin in Patients Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: Data From a Prospective Study.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly used in the treatment of cancer. However, immune-related adverse events are prevalent in patients receiving ICI therapy. A serious immune-related adverse event is ICI-myocarditis, which is complex to diagnose given that the significance of early symptoms and biomarker trajectories, such as high-sensitivity troponin T (hs-TnT) are unclear.

HIV replication and tuberculosis risk among people living with HIV in Europe: A multicohort analysis, 1983-2015.

Introduction: HIV replication leads to a change in lymphocyte phenotypes that impairs immune protection against opportunistic infections. We examined current HIV replication as an independent risk factor for tuberculosis (TB).

Methods: We included people living with HIV from 25 European cohorts 1983-2015.

The combination of infectious bronchitis virus BR1 and Mass vaccines provides broad protection.

Two vaccination-challenge trials were performed using a commercial infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) BR1 vaccine, given alone or combined with a commercial IBV Mass vaccine against challenges with IBV M41, 793B, D388 (QX), Q1, Brasil-1 or Variant 2 challenge viruses, which includes the IB viruses that are dominant in South America. The efficacy of the vaccines against the challenge viruses was investigated by determination of the ciliary activity of the tracheal epithelium after challenge. The level of protection induced by the IBV BR1 vaccine alone against the six IBV challenge strains, of which five were of heterologous genotypes, varied from 50% to 100% with an average of 80%.

Application of the estimand framework for an emulated trial using reference based multiple imputation to investigate informative censoring.

Background: The ICH E9 (R1) addendum on Estimands and Sensitivity analysis in Clinical trials proposes a framework for the design and analysis of clinical trials aimed at improving clarity around the definition of the targeted treatment effect (the estimand) of a study.

Methods: We adopt the estimand framework in the context of a study using "trial emulation" to estimate the risk of pneumocystis pneumonia, an opportunistic disease contracted by people living with HIV and AIDS having a weakened immune system, when considering two antibiotic treatment regimes for stopping antibiotic prophylaxis treatment against this disease. A "while on treatment" strategy has been implemented for post-randomisation (intercurrent) events.

Staging of immuno-virological dynamics during acute HIV infection in a Belgian prospective cohort study.

Background: The events during acute HIV infection (AHI) set the stage for the subsequent course of the disease. Early initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been associated with favorable immunovirological outcomes, yet the precise impact of ART timing during AHI remains unclear, particularly on lymphoid tissues.

Materials And Methods: The ACS cohort is a prospective cohort study in Belgium, collecting longitudinal clinical data and human bodily material (HBM) from people diagnosed and treated during AHI.

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH): the evolution of a global health and development sector.

Despite some progress, universal access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) by 2030-a remit of Sustainable Development Goal 6-remains a distant prospect in many countries. Policy-makers and implementers of the WASH sector are challenged to track a new path. This research aimed to identify core orienting themes of the sector, as legacies of past processes, which can provide insights for its future.

Risk of tuberculosis after initiation of antiretroviral therapy among persons with HIV in Europe.

Objectives: Tuberculosis (TB) risk after initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART) is not well described in a European setting, with an average TB incidence of 25/10 in the background population.

Methods: We included all adult persons with HIV starting ART in the RESPOND cohort between 2012 and 2020. TB incidence rates (IR) were assessed for consecutive time intervals post-ART initiation.

Integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) related changes in BMI and risk of diabetes: a prospective study from the RESPOND cohort consortium.

Background: With integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) use associated with increased body mass index (BMI) and BMI increases associated with higher diabetes mellitus (DM) risk, this study explored the relationship between INSTI/non-INSTI regimens, BMI changes, and DM risk.

Methods: RESPOND participants were included if they had CD4, HIV RNA, and ≥ 2 BMI measurements during follow up. Those with prior DM were excluded.

Hallmarks of cancer in patients with heart failure: data from BIOSTAT-CHF.

Background: Within cardio-oncology, emerging epidemiologic studies have demonstrated a bi-directional relationship between heart failure (HF) and cancer. In the current study, we aimed to further explore this relationship and investigate the underlying pathophysiological pathways that connect these two disease entities.

Methods: We conducted a post-hoc analysis in which we identified 24 Gene Ontology (GO) processes associated with the hallmarks of cancer based on 92 biomarkers in 1960 patients with HF.

All-cause and AIDS-related mortality among people with HIV across Europe from 2001 to 2020: impact of antiretroviral therapy, tuberculosis and regional differences in a multicentre cohort study.

Background: All-cause and AIDS-mortality in Europe has been decreasing between 1996 and 2020. However, regional differences as well as their drivers remain unclear. This study investigates mortality differences and their drivers, including usage of and response to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and active tuberculosis (TB), among people with HIV across Europe.

Cortico-striatal white-matter connectivity underlies the ability to exert goal-directed control.

The balance between goal-directed and habitual control has been proposed to determine the flexibility of instrumental behaviour, in both humans and animals. This view is supported by neuroscientific studies that have implicated dissociable neural pathways in the ability to flexibly adjust behaviour when outcome values change. A previous Diffusion Tensor Imaging study provided preliminary evidence that flexible instrumental performance depends on the strength of parallel cortico-striatal white-matter pathways previously implicated in goal-directed and habitual control.

HIV-related immune activation attenuates polyfunctional IgG and memory B-cell responses to Tdap immunization during pregnancy.

Background: Maternal pertussis vaccination with Tdap vaccine is recommended to protect newborns from severe postnatal infection. HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) infants have a higher incidence of pertussis infection and may particularly benefit from maternal immunization. The impact of HIV infection on the quality of IgG and memory B cell (MBC) responses to Tdap vaccination in pregnant women (PW) living with HIV (PWH) is unknown.

Clinical characteristics of women with HIV in the RESPOND cohort: A descriptive analysis and comparison to men.

Background: Women with HIV are globally underrepresented in clinical research. Existing studies often focus on reproductive outcomes, seldom focus on older women, and are often underpowered to assess sex/gender differences. We describe CD4, HIV viral load (VL), clinical characteristics, comorbidity burden, and use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) among women with HIV in the RESPOND study and compare them with those of the men in RESPOND.

A characterization of the HIV population with limited/exhausted treatment options: a multicenter Belgian study.

Objective: Describe the prevalence and characteristics of people living with HIV (PLWH) in Belgium with limited/exhausted treatment options.

Methods: A cross-sectional, multicenter study involving adult treatment-experienced individuals with limited/exhausted treatment options defined as having a multi-drug resistant HIV-1 or a history of multiple treatment changes. The primary outcome was to determine the prevalence of these individuals and classify them based on their two most recent consecutive HIV-1 viral loads (VLs): suppressed (2 VLs < 50 copies/mL), intermediate (≥1 VL between 50-200 copies/mL), or unsuppressed (2 VLs > 200 copies/mL).

Associations between change in BMI and the risk of hypertension and dyslipidaemia in people receiving integrase strand-transfer inhibitors, tenofovir alafenamide, or both compared with other contemporary antiretroviral regimens: a multicentre, prospective observational study from the RESPOND consortium cohorts.

Background: Integrase strand-transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) and tenofovir alafenamide have been associated with weight gain in several clinical trials and observational cohorts. However, whether weight gain associated with INSTIs and tenofovir alafenamide confers a higher risk of weight-related clinical events is unclear. We aimed to assess whether changes in BMI differentially increase hypertension or dyslipidaemia risk in people with HIV receiving INSTIs, tenofovir alafenamide, or both versus other contemporary regimens.