b Department of Immunology, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine , University of Pretoria, Pretoria , South Africa.
Published: February 2017
AI Article Synopsis
Article Abstract
In 2013, physician-researchers announced that a baby in Mississippi had been 'functionally cured' of HIV [Persaud, D., Gay, H., Ziemniak, C. F., Chen, Y. H., Piatak, M., Chun, T.-W., … Luzuriaga, K. (2013b, March). Functional HIV cure after very early ART of an infected infant. Paper presented at the 20th conference on retroviruses and opportunistic infections, Atlanta, GA]. Though the child later developed a detectable viral load, the case remains unprecedented, and trials to build on the findings are planned [National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (2014). 'Mississippi baby' now has detectable HIV, researchers find. Retrieved from http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2014/pages/mississippibabyhiv.aspx ]. Whether addressing HIV 'cure' or 'remission', scrutiny of this case has focused largely on scientific questions, with only introductory attention to ethics. The social inequalities and gaps in care that made the discovery possible - and their ethical implications for paediatric HIV remission - have gone largely unexamined. This paper describes structural inequalities surrounding the 'Mississippi baby' case and a parallel case in South Africa, where proof-of-concept studies are in the early stages. We argue that an ethical programme of research into infant HIV remission ought to be 'structurally competent', and recommend that paediatric remission studies consider including a research component focused on social protection and barriers to care.
Background: Amphotericin B deoxycholate (AmB-D) have potential toxic effects in the treatment of talaromycosis, and high-quality, non-generic liposomal AmB (L-AMB) is still inaccessible in many regions of China. As such, the efficacy and safety of alternative drugs warrant further investigation for the management of talaromycosis. This study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of Amphotericin B Colloidal Dispersion (ABCD) and AmB-D for the treatment of talaromycosis in a retrospective cohort of HIV-infected patients.
Background: Identifying risk factors for HIV rebound after treatment interruption is crucial for designing effective remission strategies.
Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from participants in the Zurich HIV Primary Infection Cohort (ZPHI, N=73) and ACTG study A5345 (N=44) were analyzed before ART interruption. We measured cell-associated HIV RNA, total HIV DNA, and proviral diversity (env gene).
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common type of immunoblastic lymphoma associated with AIDS, with the stomach being the most frequent extranodal site of involvement. Despite the widespread use of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), the incidence of systemic lymphomas remains relatively high. These lymphomas often present in the early stages of AIDS as high-grade malignancies.
People living with HIV (PLWH) have an increased risk of developing cancers, especially hematologic malignancies (HM). Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been an important treatment modality for patients with HM. However, the experience of HSCT in PLWH with HM remains limited in Asia.
Purpose Of Review: Decoding the HIV-1 immune response, including its humoral arm, in post-treatment controllers (PTCs) is paramount to unveil immune correlates of viral control, which could help developing novel strategies towards HIV-1 remission. Here, we review novel findings on the humoral response to HIV-1 in PTCs.
Recent Findings: New data reveal the heterogeneity of humoral immune profiles in PTCs, principally influenced by viral exposure and dynamics.
