Objectives: To determine the clinical, biological, virological and histological predictive factors associated with a sustained virological response (SVR) to combined interferon therapy among Egyptian patients infected by genotype 4 hepatitis C virus (HCV).
Patients And Methods: Individual data from 250 patients with genotype 4 chronic hepatitis C, treated with different regimens of combined interferon, were analysed. The primary end point was SVR defined as undetectable HCV RNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) 24 weeks after the end of treatment. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to select the independent prognostic parameters associated with SVR.
Results: A sustained virological response was achieved among 137/250 (54.8%) patients. Baseline factors independently and negatively associated with SVR were serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level (above 0.3 upper limit of normal) [odds ratio (OR)=0.5, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.2-0.8], severe fibrosis (Metavir score >F2) (OR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.8), presence of steatosis (OR=0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.97) and standard interferon treatment (OR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.8).
Conclusions: Among genotype 4 chronic hepatitis C patients, severe fibrosis, severe steatosis, treatment with standard interferon and a high serum AFP level were all negatively associated with SVR. Pretreatment serum AFP level should be considered in the routine assessment of factors predictive of a treatment response.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-3231.2008.01750.x | DOI Listing |
Virology
December 2024
Departments of Surgery & Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA. Electronic address:
The sphingolipid network is sustained principally by the balance of bioactive sphingolipid molecules and their regulation by sphingolipid-metabolizing enzymes. The components in the lipid system display key functions in numerous cellular and disease conditions including virus infections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a fruitful effort to use an inhibitor that blocks the activity of sphingosine kinase (SphK) 2 to cure the devastating disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Med
January 2025
Laboratory of Immunoregulation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD, USA.
The clinical management of people with multidrug-resistant (MDR) human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains challenging despite continued development of antiretroviral agents. A 58-year-old male individual with MDR HIV and Kaposi sarcoma (KS) was treated with a new antiretroviral regimen consisting of anti-CD4 domain 1 antibody UB-421 and capsid inhibitor lenacapavir. The individual experienced delayed but sustained suppression of plasma viremia and a substantial increase in the CD4 T cell count.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Feline Med Surg
January 2025
Environmental Science for Sustainable Development, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Objectives: To investigate the pathogenicity of feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1) to the cornea, FHV-1 strains isolated from feline eyes with dendritic ulcers were subjected to genomic analysis to determine whether FHV-1 vaccine strains are involved in the formation of dendritic ulcers.
Methods: All open reading frame (ORF) sequences of the three F2 strains (Virbac, Intervet and Merial) and the FHV-1 clinical isolates from cats registered in GenBank were compared to detect nucleotide variants unique to the F2 strains, with those nucleotides then being used for simple genotyping of the F2 strains. In all isolates from feline eyes with dendritic ulcers, the regions including nucleotide variants of the F2 strain were amplified with PCR and sequenced.
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
Institute of Neurosciences, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
Background: The increased vulnerability of Alzheimer's disease patients to severe SARS-CoV-2 infection raises crucial concerns, especially with the potential transition of the COVID-19 pandemic to an endemic state. Given the rising prevalence of Alzheimer's in an aging world-wide population, elucidating whether SARS-CoV-2 infection may induce or accelerate neurodegeneration becomes imperative.
Method: To investigate the neurodegenerative effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection, we generated brain organoids using human induced pluripotent stem lines from one non-demented control, one with sporadic Alzheimer's, and one with familial Alzheimer's.
Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther
January 2025
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy.
Introduction: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection represents a significant global health burden, particularly due to its extrahepatic immune-mediated manifestations, such as mixed cryoglobulinemia, associated vasculitis (CryoVas), and non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma (B-NHL), which pose significant challenges. The advent of direct-acting antiviral (DAA) has changed the therapeutic landscape for HCV-related complications.
Areas Covered: This review explores the evolving epidemiology and management of HCV extrahepatic manifestation and lymphoproliferative disorders in the era of DAAs.
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