Engaging newly diagnosed HIV+ individuals in treatment is a significant global challenge. As South Africa expands HIV counseling and testing (HCT) services, the growing numbers of people diagnosed with HIV will need innovative links to care approaches in order for treatment to be most effective. While definitions vary, we have defined "linkage to care" as connecting an HIV+ individual to medical care, so that CD4 cell test results are obtained and antiretroviral therapy (ART) eligibility assessed. The study is of HIV+ participants (n = 1096), from either Limpopo or Gauteng provinces from a "Links to Care" program. A two-pronged expanded HCT service was used, which included a community outreach approach to address HIV testing and a call center to encourage and track each patient's linkage to care post-HIV diagnosis. The majority of individuals (51%) were linked to care with a mean time to linkage of 31 days (with most individuals linked in less than 14 days). More females (54%) were linked to care than males (47%) and had higher CD4 cell counts than males; females had a mean CD4 cell count of 440, while males took longer to link to care and had a lower mean CD4 cell count of 331. Females of 23 years or younger had the lowest linkage rate of all females. Findings suggest that expanding HCT services to include innovative links to care approaches can improve linkage to care and subsequently impact HIV prevention.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2015.1015483 | DOI Listing |
BMC Cancer
January 2025
Basic Research Center, Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sichuan Cancer Center, School of Medicine, Sichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Background: CD3 + CD20 + T cells (T cells) are a subset of lymphocytes in the human body that are associated with inflammation. They originate from T cells interacting with B cells, and their levels are abnormally elevated in individuals with immune disorders, as well as in some cancer patients. The interplay between tumor immunity and inflammation is intricate, yet the specific involvement of T cells in local tumor immunity remains uncertain, with limited research on their subtypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Institute of Virology, Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) encodes four viral Fc-gamma receptors (vFcγRs) that counteract antibody-mediated activation in vitro, but their role in infection and pathogenesis is unknown. To examine their in vivo function in an animal model evolutionarily closely related to humans, we identified and characterized Rh05, Rh152/151 and Rh173 as the complete set of vFcγRs encoded by rhesus CMV (RhCMV). Each one of these proteins displays functional similarities to their prospective HCMV orthologs with respect to antagonizing host FcγR activation in vitro.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Oncolytic viruses (OVs) emerge as a promising cancer immunotherapy. However, the temporal impact on tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment, and the nature of anti-tumor immunity post-therapy remain largely unclear. Here we report that CD4 T cells are required for durable tumor control in syngeneic murine models of glioblastoma multiforme after treatment with an oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) engineered to express IL-12.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiabetologia
January 2025
Kidney Transplantation Center, Department of Urology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Aims/hypothesis: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) features intrarenal inflammation, in which T cells play a part. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), a key transcription factor regulating cellular responses to hypoxia, is reportedly involved in the course of inflammation. The role of HIF-1α in DKD has been investigated, but the conclusions are controversial so far.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrob Pathog
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Guangzhou National Laboratory, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Electronic address:
Background: The coexistence of tuberculosis (TB) and lung cancer (LC) is not rare, but their causal association are underexplored. This study aims to elucidate these bidirectional correlations and investigate the mediating effects of immunophenotypes and plasma metabolites.
Methods: Genetic variants for TB and LC were sourced from the IEU Open GWAS Project, while data for 731 immunophenotypes and 1400 plasma metabolites from previously published GWAS.
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!