Effectiveness of influenza vaccination programme in preventing hospital admissions, Valencia, 2014/15 early results

Preliminary results for the 2014/15 season indicate low to null effect of vaccination against influenza A(H3N2)-related disease. As of week 5 2015, there have been 1,136 hospital admissions, 210 were due to influenza and 98% of subtype A strains were H3. Adjusted influenza vaccine effectiveness was 33% (range: 6–53%) overall and 40% (range: 13% to 59%) in those 65 years and older. Vaccination reduced by 44% (28–68%) the probability of admission with influenza.The study was funded by a contract between FISABIO and Sanofi-Pasteur

Circulating microRNAs in sera correlate with soluble biomarkers of immune activation but do not predict mortality in ART treated individuals with HIV-1 infection: A case control study

Introduction: The use of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced HIV-1 associated morbidity and mortality. However, HIV-1 infected individuals have increased rates of morbidity and mortality compared to the non-HIV-1 infected population and this appears to be related to end-organ diseases collectively referred to as Serious Non-AIDS Events (SNAEs). Circulating miRNAs are reported as promising biomarkers for a number of human disease conditions including those that constitute SNAEs. Our study sought to investigate the potential of selected miRNAs in predicting mortality in HIV-1 infected ART treated individuals. Materials and Methods: A set of miRNAs was chosen based on published associations with human disease conditions that constitute SNAEs. This case: control study compared 126 cases (individuals who died whilst on therapy), and 247 matched controls (individuals who remained alive). Cases and controls were ART treated participants of two pivotal HIV-1 trials. The relative abundance of each miRNA in serum was measured, by RTqPCR. Associations with mortality (all-cause, cardiovascular and malignancy) were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Correlations between miRNAs and CD4+ T cell count, hs-CRP, IL-6 and D-dimer were also assessed. Results: None of the selected miRNAs was associated with all-cause, cardiovascular or malignancy mortality. The levels of three miRNAs (miRs -21, -122 and -200a) correlated with IL-6 while miR-21 also correlated with D-dimer. Additionally, the abundance of miRs -31, -150 and -223, correlated with baseline CD4+ T cell count while the same three miRNAs plus miR- 145 correlated with nadir CD4+ T cell count. Discussion: No associations with mortality were found with any circulating miRNA studied. These results cast doubt onto the effectiveness of circulating miRNA as early predictors of mortality or the major underlying diseases that contribute to mortality in participants treated for HIV-1 infection

A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)

Meeting abstrac

Development and Validation of a Risk Score for Chronic Kidney Disease in HIV Infection Using Prospective Cohort Data from the D:A:D Study

Ristola M. on työryhmien DAD Study Grp ; Royal Free Hosp Clin Cohort ; INSIGHT Study Grp ; SMART Study Grp ; ESPRIT Study Grp jäsen.Background Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health issue for HIV-positive individuals, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Development and implementation of a risk score model for CKD would allow comparison of the risks and benefits of adding potentially nephrotoxic antiretrovirals to a treatment regimen and would identify those at greatest risk of CKD. The aims of this study were to develop a simple, externally validated, and widely applicable long-term risk score model for CKD in HIV-positive individuals that can guide decision making in clinical practice. Methods and Findings A total of 17,954 HIV-positive individuals from the Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D) study with >= 3 estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) values after 1 January 2004 were included. Baseline was defined as the first eGFR > 60 ml/min/1.73 m2 after 1 January 2004; individuals with exposure to tenofovir, atazanavir, atazanavir/ritonavir, lopinavir/ritonavir, other boosted protease inhibitors before baseline were excluded. CKD was defined as confirmed (>3 mo apart) eGFR In the D:A:D study, 641 individuals developed CKD during 103,185 person-years of follow-up (PYFU; incidence 6.2/1,000 PYFU, 95% CI 5.7-6.7; median follow-up 6.1 y, range 0.3-9.1 y). Older age, intravenous drug use, hepatitis C coinfection, lower baseline eGFR, female gender, lower CD4 count nadir, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) predicted CKD. The adjusted incidence rate ratios of these nine categorical variables were scaled and summed to create the risk score. The median risk score at baseline was -2 (interquartile range -4 to 2). There was a 1: 393 chance of developing CKD in the next 5 y in the low risk group (risk score = 5, 505 events), respectively. Number needed to harm (NNTH) at 5 y when starting unboosted atazanavir or lopinavir/ritonavir among those with a low risk score was 1,702 (95% CI 1,166-3,367); NNTH was 202 (95% CI 159-278) and 21 (95% CI 19-23), respectively, for those with a medium and high risk score. NNTH was 739 (95% CI 506-1462), 88 (95% CI 69-121), and 9 (95% CI 8-10) for those with a low, medium, and high risk score, respectively, starting tenofovir, atazanavir/ritonavir, or another boosted protease inhibitor. The Royal Free Hospital Clinic Cohort included 2,548 individuals, of whom 94 individuals developed CKD (3.7%) during 18,376 PYFU (median follow-up 7.4 y, range 0.3-12.7 y). Of 2,013 individuals included from the SMART/ESPRIT control arms, 32 individuals developed CKD (1.6%) during 8,452 PYFU (median follow-up 4.1 y, range 0.6-8.1 y). External validation showed that the risk score predicted well in these cohorts. Limitations of this study included limited data on race and no information on proteinuria. Conclusions Both traditional and HIV-related risk factors were predictive of CKD. These factors were used to develop a risk score for CKD in HIV infection, externally validated, that has direct clinical relevance for patients and clinicians to weigh the benefits of certain antiretrovirals against the risk of CKD and to identify those at greatest risk of CKD.Peer reviewe

Targeted resequencing reveals rare variants enrichment in multiple sclerosis susceptibility genes

Although genome-wide association studies have identified a number of common variants associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) susceptibility, little is known about the relevance of rare variants. Here, we aimed to explore the role of rare variants in 14 MS risk genes (FCRL1, RGS1, TIMMDC1, HHEX, CXCR5, LTBR, TSFM, GALC, TRAF3, STAT3, TNFSF14, IFI30, CD40, and CYP24A1) by targeted resequencing in an Iberian population of 524 MS cases and 546 healthy controls. Four rare variants-enriched regions within CYP24A1, FCRL1, RGS1, and TRAF3 were identified as significantly associated with MS. Functional studies revealed significantly decreased regulator of G protein signaling 1 (RGS1) gene expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from MS patients with RGS1 rare variants compared to noncarriers, whereas no significant differences in gene expression were observed for CYP24A1, FCRL1, and TRAF3 between rare variants carriers and noncarriers. Immunophenotyping showed significant decrease in RGS1 expression in peripheral blood B lymphocytes from MS patients with RGS1 rare variants relative to noncarriers. Lastly, peripheral blood mononuclear cell from MS patients carrying RGS1 rare variants showed significantly lower induction of RGS1 gene expression by interferon-β compared to MS patients lacking RGS1 variants. The presence of rare variants in RGS1 reinforce the ideas of high genetic heterogeneity and a role of rare variants in MS pathogenesis.Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and Fondo Europeo de Desarollo Regional (FEDER). Grant Number: BFU2016-77961-

Effectiveness of influenza vaccination programme in preventing hospital admissions, Valencia, 2014/15 early results.

Preliminary results for the 2014/15 season indicate low to null effect of vaccination against influenza A(H3N2)-related disease. As of week 5 2015, there have been 1,136 hospital admissions, 210 were due to influenza and 98% of subtype A strains were H3. Adjusted influenza vaccine effectiveness was 33% (range: 6-53%) overall and 40% (range: 13% to 59%) in those 65 years and older. Vaccination reduced by 44% (28-68%) the probability of admission with influenza

Hydroalcoholic extracts from the bark of Quercus suber L. (Cork): optimization of extraction conditions, chemical composition and antioxidant potential

Cork is the bark of the tree Quercus suber L. which ï¬ nds use in diverse applications. However, a signiï¬ cant percentage is still rejected and burned for energy production, despite containing valuable molecules for materials processing and with important biological activities. Herein, the optimization of the extraction process to obtain these molecules, using mild solvents and conditions, is described within a bioreï¬ nery perspective. The extracts were obtained by direct contact solvent extractions with water, ethanol and its mixtures for different time and temperatures, and evaluated for chemical composition, total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant properties [by DPPH radical scavenging, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays]. The results showed that the extraction process is accelerated and higher yields are achieved with the increase in temperature without chemical degradation or compromising the antioxidant capacity. For all solvents, at reï¬ ux temperature, more than 90% of the extractable material is obtained within 6 h (80% within 1 h). The highest TPC and antioxidant capacity are observed for the extracts obtained with mixtures of water and ethanol of similar volumes. The antioxidant capacity measured by DPPH, FRAP and TEAC assays was found to be proportional to the extract TPC, while ORAC is favored for higher percentages of ethanol on the extracting solvent. The main constituents of these extracts are the ellagitannins, vescalagin, castalagin and b-O-ethylvescalagin, along with other phenolic acids (mainly ellagic and gallic acids) and various ï¬ avonols. The extracts stability was monitored up to 1 year of storage with neither reduction in the antioxidant capacity nor chemical degradation. These results show that extracts with strong antioxidant potential and high content of bioactive molecules can be obtained from the processing of waste streams. Cork is a sustainable forest product and the development of new ï¬ elds of application contributes toward a zero waste cycle for a complete material bioreï¬ nery.The authors are grateful to Amorim Cork Composites for providing the cork powder and for the financing provided by the COMPETE/QREN/EU funding program through project BioActiveCork (QREN FCOMP-01-0202-FEDER-005455). Ivo M. Aroso and João P. Fernandes Fig. 6 Comparison between fresh and 1 year stored extracts for a TPC and b DPPH scavenging capacity Wood Sci Technol123 acknowledge the financial support from FCT through grants SFRH/BD/42273/2007 and SFRH/BD/73162/2010, respectively. Funding was also granted from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under Grant Agreement No. REGPOT-CT2012-316331-POLARIS and from Project ‘‘Novel smart and biomimetic materials for innovative regenerative medicine approaches (Ref.: RL1 - ABMR - NORTE-01-0124-FEDER-000016)’’ co-financed by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio