Antibacterial activity of nanoparticles and nanomaterials: a possible weapon in the fight against healthcare-associated infections

Healthcare-associated infections are a serious threat in terms of morbidity and mortality for all patients receiving healthcare. The problem is aggravated by the increasingly widespread phenomenon of antibiotic resistance, with some microorganisms now resistant to all or almost all the currently available antibiotics. Nanomaterials are compounds used by many different industrial fields and they are currently studied for their intrinsic antimicrobial properties. To date, many researchers have considered using many different nanoparticles and nanomaterials to produce surfaces and medical devices with intrinsic antimicrobial features. Many compounds have shown very interesting and effective antimicrobial capacities and could be used, in the future, to manufacture new hospital surfaces and medical devices. However, many studies have to be carried out to evaluate the effective potential use of these compounds. The aim of this paper is to review the main literature regarding this topic, focusing on the main types of nanoparticles and nanomaterials studied for this purpose

Inducing effect of phenobarbital on clozapine metabolism in patients with chronic schizophrenia.

The steady state plasma concentrations of clozapine and its two major metabolites, norclozapine and clozapine N-oxide, were compared in patients with schizophrenia treated with clozapine in combination with phenobarbital (n=7), and in control patients treated with clozapine alone (n=15). Patients were matched for sex, age, body weight, and antipsychotic dosage. Patients comedicated with phenobarbital had significantly lower plasma clozapine levels than those of the controls (232+/-104 versus 356+/-138 ng/ml; mean, SD, p < 0.05). Plasma norclozapine levels did not differ between the two groups (195+/-91 versus 172+/-61 ng/ml, NS), whereas clozapine N-oxide levels were significantly higher in the phenobarbital group (115+/-49 versus 53+/-31 ng/ml, p < 0.01). Norclozapine/clozapine and clozapine N-oxide/ clozapine ratios were also significantly higher (p < 0.001) in patients comedicated with phenobarbital. These findings suggest that phenobarbital stimulates the metabolism of clozapine, probably by inducing its N-oxidation and demethylation pathways

Vaccines against HPV in people living with HIV: a review

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection represents the most common sexually transmitted infection worldwide. The best weapon to control the HPV infection is the primary prevention that includes interventions related to lifestyle and sexual habits and HPV-vaccination. HPV vaccination must be recommended not only for young girls, but also for boys, MSM and HIV-infected people. People Living with HIV (PLWHA) have high rates of persistent HPV infection if compared with HIV-uninfected people. Several data from HIV negative population have confirmed vaccine safety and efficacy, but there is limited data available on the efficacy of the vaccine among HIV-infected people. In this review, we considered the studies published about anti-HPV vaccination in PLWHA that we found performing a research on PUBMED (Bethesda, MD, USA) with the aim to point out the main aspects of vaccination in this particular population

Epstein Barr Virus related cancer in people living with HIV: a review of the literature

The introduction of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) has modified the natural history of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, leading to an increase in the life expectancy of the patients living with HIV (PLWH). Similar to other oncogenic viruses, EBV increases the risk of developing cancer in immune-depressed hosts, including HIV-infected people. The adherence to anti-retroviral therapy (ART) is important in the management of cancer in HIV-positive patients even if ART has a less favorable impact on EBV related tumors if compared with its impact on AIDS-defining cancers. This review is focused on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, management and therapy of EBV-associated tumors in the setting of HIV infection