Alternative medicines for AIDS in resource-poor settings: Insights from exploratory anthropological studies in Asia and Africa

The emergence of alternative medicines for AIDS in Asia and Africa was discussed at a satellite symposium and the parallel session on alternative and traditional treatments of the AIDSImpact meeting, held in Marseille, in July 2007. These medicines are heterogeneous, both in their presentation and in their geographic and cultural origin. The sessions focused on the role of these medications in selected resource poor settings in Africa and Asia now that access to anti-retroviral therapy is increasing. The aims of the sessions were to (1) identify the actors involved in the diffusion of these alternative medicines for HIV/AIDS, (2) explore uses and forms, and the way these medicines are given legitimacy, (3) reflect on underlying processes of globalisation and cultural differentiation, and (4) define priority questions for future research in this area. This article presents the insights generated at the meeting, illustrated with some findings from the case studies (Uganda, Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, China and Indonesia) that were presented. These case studies reveal the wide range of actors who are involved in the marketing and supply of alternative medicines. Regulatory mechanisms are weak. The efficacy claims of alternative medicines often reinforce a biomedical paradigm for HIV/AIDS, and fit with a healthy living ideology promoted by AIDS care programs and support groups. The AIDSImpact session concluded that more interdisciplinary research is needed on the experience of people living with HIV/AIDS with these alternative medicines, and on the ways in which these products interact (or not) with anti-retroviral therapy at pharmacological as well as psychosocial levels

Quantitative atomic force microscopy provides new insight into matrix vesicle mineralization

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Validation of prostate cancer risk-related loci identified from genome-wide association studies using family-based association analysis: evidence from the International Consortium for Prostate Cancer Genetics (ICPCG)

Multiple prostate cancer (PCa) risk-related loci have been discovered by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) based on case–control designs. However, GWAS findings may be confounded by population stratification if cases and controls are inadvertently drawn from different genetic backgrounds. In addition, since these loci were identified in cases with predominantly sporadic disease, little is known about their relationships with hereditary prostate cancer (HPC). The association between seventeen reported PCa susceptibility loci was evaluated with a family-based association test using 1,979 hereditary PCa families of European descent collected by members of the International Consortium for Prostate Cancer Genetics, with a total of 5,730 affected men. The risk alleles for 8 of the 17 loci were significantly over-transmitted from parents to affected offspring, including SNPs residing in 8q24 (regions 1, 2 and 3), 10q11, 11q13, 17q12 (region 1), 17q24 and Xp11. In subgroup analyses, three loci, at 8q24 (regions 1 and 2) plus 17q12, were significantly over-transmitted in hereditary PCa families with five or more affected members, while loci at 3p12, 8q24 (region 2), 11q13, 17q12 (region 1), 17q24 and Xp11 were significantly over-transmitted in HPC families with an average age of diagnosis at 65 years or less. Our results indicate that at least a subset of PCa risk-related loci identified by case–control GWAS are also associated with disease risk in HPC families

Enzymes immobilized in Langmuir-Blodgett films: Why determining the surface properties in Langmuir monolayer is important?

ABSTRACT In this review we discuss about the immobilization of enzymes in Langmuir-Blodgett films in order to determine the catalytic properties of these biomacromolecules when adsorbed on solid supports. Usually, the conformation of enzymes depends on the environmental conditions imposed to them, including the chemical composition of the matrix, and the morphology and thickness of the film. In this review, we show an outline of manuscripts that report the immobilization of enzymes as LB films since the 1980’s, and also some examples of how the surface properties of the floating monolayer prepared previously to the transfer to the solid support are important to determine the efficiency of the resulting device

Association analysis of 9,560 prostate cancer cases from the International Consortium of Prostate Cancer Genetics confirms the role of reported prostate cancer associated SNPs for familial disease

Previous GWAS studies have reported significant associations between various common SNPs and prostate cancer risk using cases unselected for family history. How these variants influence risk in familial prostate cancer is not well studied. Here, we analyzed 25 previously reported SNPs across 14 loci from prior prostate cancer GWAS. The International Consortium for Prostate Cancer Genetics (ICPCG) previously validated some of these using a family-based association method (FBAT). However, this approach suffered reduced power due to the conditional statistics implemented in FBAT. Here, we use a case-control design with an empirical analysis strategy to analyze the ICPCG resource for association between these 25 SNPs and familial prostate cancer risk. Fourteen sites contributed 12,506 samples (9,560 prostate cancer cases, 3,368 with aggressive disease, and 2,946 controls from 2,283 pedigrees). We performed association analysis with Genie software which accounts for relationships. We analyzed all familial prostate cancer cases and the subset of aggressive cases. For the familial prostate cancer phenotype, 20 of the 25 SNPs were at least nominally associated with prostate cancer and 16 remained significant after multiple testing correction (p≤1E−3) occurring on chromosomal bands 6q25, 7p15, 8q24, 10q11, 11q13, 17q12, 17q24, and Xp11. For aggressive disease, 16 of the SNPs had at least nominal evidence and 8 were statistically significant including 2p15. The results indicate that the majority of common, low-risk alleles identified in GWAS studies for all prostate cancer also contribute risk for familial prostate cancer, and that some may be contribute risk to aggressive disease

Surveillance in the field: Over-identification of Ebola suspect cases and its contributing factors in West African at-risk contexts

During an Ebola outbreak, the WHO recommends that health professionals consider people as suspect cases (SCs) when they show key signs such as the sudden onset of high fever or specific symptoms after having had contact with a suspect or confirmed Ebola case. SCs should then get care, be isolated and be reported to health authorities until the Ebola virus disease is confirmed through a lab test. This exploratory study aims to understand this identification process in the field based on a qualitative analysis of the diagnosis and therapeutic itineraries of 19 SCs in Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal (2014–2015). Results indicate that the main criteria for SC identification at the field level were fever (understood broadly) and provenance from a highly affected country (applied indiscriminately). WHO criteria were not followed in at least 9 of the 19 cases. Several medical, social and cultural factors favour over-identification of people as SCs, including relativism in defining ‘high fever’, placism, humanitarian or securitarian bias, issues in categorising SC's contact cases, and the context of fear. To avoid undue categorisation and its possible harmful social effects, the WHO definition should be implemented more carefully in various contexts and with greater consideration for ethical issues, while prioritising diagnosis strategies with higher specificity

Chelating Langmuir-Blodgett film: a new versatile chemiluminescent sensing layer for biosensor applications

International audienceThe present study reports the achievement of a new chemiluminescent sensing layer able to simultaneously (i) play an active role on ligand immobilization and (ii) serve as a catalyst in detection processes for label-free biosensor applications. This new type of active Langmuir−Blodgett (LB) monolayer has been designed by using a chelating lipid (Ni-NTA-DOGS). Thanks to the chelated metallic cation, this peculiar lipid exhibits luminol chemiluminescence catalysis properties in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Upon biomolecule interaction through imidazole ring chelation (mediated by the metallic cation bound to the lipid headgroup), the chemiluminescent signal can be modulated. The first chemiluminescent signal acquisition experiments have shown a strong and homogeneous signal of the chelating layer. Upon histamine interactions, a histidine derivative used as a marker of fresh food quality, we succeeded in obtaining as a proof of concept a chemiluminescent signal variation without any derivatization of the target molecule. This signal variation was shown to be directly correlated to the histamine concentration with a limit of detection of 2 μg/mL