Evolution of hepatitis C virus variants following blood transfusion from one infected donor to several recipients: a long-term follow-up

Variants of hepatitis C virus (HCV) from a single infected blood donor and 13 viraemic recipients who were traced were examined by sequencing and cloning to determine the extent of virus diversity in hypervariable region 1. Serum-derived viral isolates were studied from the donor when his HCV infection was discovered in 1993, in his recipients that year (0·3–5 years post-transfusion) and 5 years later in the donor and six viraemic recipients who were still alive. Viral variants of broad diversity were readily demonstrated in the baseline samples of the donor (nucleotide p-distance 0·130), but significantly less (P<0·00003) diversity was observed in the recipients' first samples (p-distances within recipients 0·003–0·062). In the first blood samples of the recipients, many of the viral variants identified were closely related to a strain variant from the donor. In follow-up samples drawn 5 years later from the donor and six recipients, the p-distance among donor clones had increased (0·172, P<0·0005) compared with the recipients, who displayed significantly narrower quasispecies (0·011–0·086). A common finding was that recipients of blood components processed from the same donation differed substantially in persisting HCV infectious sequence. Markedly few changes leading to changes of amino acids had occurred during follow-up in four of six recipients. These results question the significance of the development of viral variants as a necessary phenomenon in the evolution of HCV and pathogenesis of the disease

Patterns of prescription and discontinuation of contraceptives for Swedish women with obesity and normal-weight women

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the prescription of different contraceptive methods to Swedish women with obesity and to compare the pattern of prescription and adherence to treatment between this group and normal-weight women. Materials and methods: This study included 371 women with obesity and 744 matched normal-weight women, aged 18-40. Medical records were scrutinised for the period 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2014. The retrieved variables included: background characteristics, prescribed contraceptive methods, adverse effects, duration of treatment, reason for discontinuation and bleeding pattern. Result: Progestin-only pills were mainly prescribed to women with obesity (44% vs. 20%, p = 0.001) whereas combined hormonal contraception was mainly prescribed to normal-weight women (60% vs. 21%, p amp;lt; 0.0001). Thirty-three percent vs. 25% (p = 0.003) discontinued their contraceptive method within 1 year. The most commonly declared reason for discontinuation was bleeding disturbance (14.7% vs. 9.6%, p = 0.008). Conclusion: The most commonly prescribed contraceptive method in women with obesity was progestin-only pills, but surprisingly many women with obesity were prescribed combined hormonal contraception despite current Swedish and European guidelines. Incident users with obesity were significantly more likely to discontinue their contraceptive method within the first year of the study period, compared with incident normal-weight users.Funding Agencies|county council of Ostergotland [ALF] [LIO 601741, LIO 697051]</p

Evolution of hepatitis C virus variants following blood transfusion from one infected donor to several recipients: a long-term follow-up

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldVariants of hepatitis C virus (HCV) from a single infected blood donor and 13 viraemic recipients who were traced were examined by sequencing and cloning to determine the extent of virus diversity in hypervariable region 1. Serum-derived viral isolates were studied from the donor when his HCV infection was discovered in 1993, in his recipients that year (0.3-5 years post-transfusion) and 5 years later in the donor and six viraemic recipients who were still alive. Viral variants of broad diversity were readily demonstrated in the baseline samples of the donor (nucleotide p-distance 0.130), but significantly less (P<0.00003) diversity was observed in the recipients' first samples (p-distances within recipients 0.003-0.062). In the first blood samples of the recipients, many of the viral variants identified were closely related to a strain variant from the donor. In follow-up samples drawn 5 years later from the donor and six recipients, the p-distance among donor clones had increased (0.172, P<0.0005) compared with the recipients, who displayed significantly narrower quasispecies (0.011-0.086). A common finding was that recipients of blood components processed from the same donation differed substantially in persisting HCV infectious sequence. Markedly few changes leading to changes of amino acids had occurred during follow-up in four of six recipients. These results question the significance of the development of viral variants as a necessary phenomenon in the evolution of HCV and pathogenesis of the disease

Lactose, glucose and galactose content in milk, fermented milk and lactose-free milk products

Lactose, glucose and galactose contents in milk and fermented milk products and their lactose-free alternatives, were determined. Storage of products up to the best-before dates had no effect on carbohydrate composition. Total galactose content in yoghurt, i.e., free galactose plus the galactose moiety of lactose, was 2.3–2.4 g 100 g−1 (94–95% of that in milk), whereas that in Swedish soured milk and kefir was 1.9–2.0 g 100 g−1 (75–79% of that in milk). Lactose levels in lactose-free milk and fermented milk products were below or close to detection limits for all products. Only small differences in total galactose content existed for the lactose-free alternatives of milk, yoghurt and filmjölk, all with average total galactose contents of 1.3–1.4 g 100 g−1 (55–60% of that in milk). In contrast, lactose-free kefir had the same galactose content as milk, 2.4 g 100 g−1