Risk of tuberculosis disease in patients receiving TNF-α antagonist therapy: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) risk associated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) antagonist therapy in patients with autoimmune diseases is a significant concern. This study aims to evaluate the risk of TB disease associated with TNF-α antagonist therapy.

Methods: An extensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane CENTRAL databases was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing TB disease risk in patients receiving TNF-α antagonist therapy available until November 1, 2024.

Molecular Characterization of Multidrug-Resistant and Hypervirulent New Delhi Metallo-Beta-Lactamase in Lazio, Italy: A Five-Year Retrospective Study.

Background/objectives: Antimicrobial resistance represents a challenge to public health systems because of the array of resistance and virulence mechanisms that lead to treatment failure and increased mortality rates. Although for years the main driver of carbapenem resistance in Italy has been the KPC carbapenemase, recent years have seen an increase in VIM and NDM metallo-beta-lactamases (MBLs). We conducted a five-year survey of New Delhi Metallo-beta-Lactamase (NDM)-producing (NDM-Kpn) clinical isolates from the Lazio region, Italy; the study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underpinning their resistant and virulent phenotype.

The role of glycolysis in tumorigenesis: From biological aspects to therapeutic opportunities.

Glycolytic metabolism generates energy and intermediates for biomass production. Tumor-associated glycolysis is upregulated compared to normal tissues in response to tumor cell-autonomous or non-autonomous stimuli. The consequences of this upregulation are twofold.

The Battle beyond the Battlefield: War's Influence on Antibiotic Resistance.

In July 2024, poliovirus was identified in Gaza, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to issue a warning regarding the potential for polio to spread in the region [...

HEV-3 subtypes and strains detected in cases of HEV infection in central Italy from 2015 to 2023.

Purpose: HEV is an emerging pathogen in Europe and was previously shown to be hyperendemic in areas of Abruzzo and Lazio, Central Italy. No systematic analysis of the HEV strains responsible for human infections over several years in Central Italy has previously been reported. Aim of the study was the molecular characterization of HEV from autochthonous hepatitis E cases occurred in Abruzzo and Lazio between 2015 and 2023.

Torque Teno Virus: A Promising Biomarker in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Torque Teno Virus (TTV) is a ubiquitous component of the human virome, not associated with any disease. As its load increases when the immune system is compromised, such as in kidney transplant (KT) recipients, TTV load monitoring has been proposed as a method to assess immunosuppression. In this prospective study, TTV load was measured in plasma and urine samples from 42 KT recipients, immediately before KT and in the first 150 days after it.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Infection, Second Edition.

(CD) is a Gram-positive, anaerobic bacterium that is one of the most common causes of infective diarrhoea worldwide [...

The Evolving Challenge of Appropriate Antibiotics Use in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Systematic Literature Review.

The issue of bacterial infections in COVID-19 patients has received increasing attention. Scant data are available on the impact of bacterial superinfection and antibiotic administration on the outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. We conducted a literature review from 1 January 2022 to 31 March 2024 to assess the current burden of bacterial infection and the evidence for antibiotic use in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

Molnupiravir increases SARS-CoV-2 genome diversity and complexity: A case-control cohort study.

Molnupiravir, an oral direct-acting antiviral effective in vitro against SARS-CoV-2, has been largely employed during the COVID-19 pandemic, since December 2021. After marketing and widespread usage, a progressive increase in SARS-CoV-2 lineages characterized by a higher transition/transversion ratio, a characteristic signature of molnupiravir action, appeared in the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) and International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC) databases. Here, we assessed the drug effects by SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequencing on 38 molnupiravir-treated persistently positive COVID-19 outpatients tested before and after treatment.

Human and Viral microRNA Expression in Acute and Chronic HIV Infections.

Human and viral microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the regulation of gene transcription, and the establishment of their profiles in acute (AHI) and chronic (CHI) HIV infections may shed light on the pathogenetic events related to different phases of HIV disease. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) of miRNA libraries was performed, and the reads were used to analyze miRNA differential expression in the plasma with AHI and CHI. Functional analysis was then undertaken to investigate the biological processes characterizing the two phases of HIV infection.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the real-world diagnostic infrastructure for tuberculosis-An ESGMYC collaborative study.

We determined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mycobacterial diagnostic services. 40 laboratories from 22 countries completed an online questionnaire covering the redeployment of the laboratory infrastructure and/or staff for SARS-CoV-2 testing, staff shortages and supply chain disruptions. 28 laboratories reported monthly numbers of samples processed for mycobacterial investigations and monthly numbers of M.

The impact of armed conflict on the development and global spread of antibiotic resistance: a systematic review.

Background: Scant data are available on the link between armed conflicts and the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance.

Objectives: We performed a systematic review with the aim to summarize the available data on the prevalence and features of antibiotic resistance and the causes of antibiotic resistance development during armed conflicts in the 21st century.

Methods: Data sources: PubMed and SCOPUS databases were searched from 1 January 2000 to 30 November 2023.

Correction: Zwergel et al. Novel Quinoline Compounds Active in Cancer Cells through Coupled DNA Methyltransferase Inhibition and Degradation. 2020, , 447.

In the original publication [...

Perspectives on development and advancement of new tuberculosis vaccines.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of death worldwide and is estimated to have caused 1.3 million deaths worldwide in 2022. Approximately one quarter of the world's population are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, of whom up to 10% will progress to developing active TB disease.

Cohort profile: PRESTIGIO, an Italian prospective registry-based cohort of people with HIV-1 resistant to reverse transcriptase, protease and integrase inhibitors.

Purpose: The PRESTIGIO Registry was established in 2017 to collect clinical, virological and immunological monitoring data from people living with HIV (PLWH) with documented four-class drug resistance (4DR). Key research purposes include the evaluation of residual susceptibility to specific antiretrovirals and the validation of treatment and monitoring strategies in this population.

Participants: The PRESTIGIO Registry collects annual plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cell samples and demographic, clinical, virological, treatment and laboratory data from PLWH followed at 39 Italian clinical centres and characterised by intermediate-to-high genotypic resistance to ≥1 nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, ≥1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, ≥1 protease inhibitors, plus either intermediate-to-high genotypic resistance to ≥1 integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs) or history of virological failure to an INSTI-containing regimen.