CD4-T Cells as a Predictor of Immune Status and Its Outcomes Following Second-Line Combination Antiretroviral Therapy in Adult HIV-1 Infected Patients Attending Apin/Juth HIV Clinic in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Deficiency in immune cell number or activity is a cardinal feature of HIV.  Second line antiretroviral therapy is geared towards improving immune cell activity and improving treatment outcomes. More people are now accessing free combination antiretroviral therapy through public health programmes in resource limited settings. There is currently no third line therapy for patients failing second line therapy in most of these programmes and data on effectiveness of second line antiretroviral therapy are limited. To adequately address and prepare for this scenario, critical assessments of the outcomes of second-line cART are needed. This is a retrospective cohort study of patients accessing second line cART at the APIN/ JUTH, Jos adult HIV clinic from 2004 to 2018, to determine the proportion of patients failing second line cART, to evaluate time to immunologic failure, time to lost to follow up and time to death using Kaplan Meier estimates. Immunological failure occurs when there is a fall of CD4 counts to pre-therapy baseline (or below) or 50% fall from the on-treatment peak value (if known) or persistent CD4 levels below 100 cells/mm3 6 months after ART initiation. A total of 285 patients were included in the study, with a mean age of 45±9.5 years. Females where 194 (68.1%) All the patients were on boosted protease inhibitor, the predominant combination antiretroviral therapy for second line regimen was Lopinavir boosted with ritonavir in combination with Tenofovir, Lamivudine and Zidovudine (43.9%). The baseline CD4 count was 134 (IQR 54-272). The CD4 count increased to 339 (IQR213-498) at 72 weeks.   In conclusion, Second line cART immunologic failure rates are low in our cohort and patient stay longer on cART before failure. Keywords: CD4 cells, Immunologic failure, Antiretroviral therapy DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/107-02 Publication date: April 30th 202

The flip side of Cell Talk in Exercise: Cell Noise

The article makes an effort to study, assess, and bring additional depth to the concept of cell talk, crosstalk, and cell noise -highlighting molecular-level occurrences such as signaling activity that affect different metabolic processes, gene expression, and protein synthesis. It also establishes the idea of "cell noise," or "dysregulated cell signaling," which is defined as cell activity that may worsen or result in cellular injury, oxidative stress, and inflammation. There is abundant evidence that consistent, lifelong exercise extends lifespan and delays the onset of chronic illnesses like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, obesity, depression, and osteoporosis. The aforementioned highlights the need for metered or regulated physical training that takes into account genetic and environmental variances among individuals. Everyone is advised to engage in structured, well-chosen workouts that will promote longevity of life and result in the human body functioning at its best. Keywords: Cell Talk in Exercise, Cell Noise DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/13-8-05 Publication date:May 31st 202