Int J Tuberc Lung Dis

BackgroundTherapeutic effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in patients with multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and HIV infection have not been established.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to assess therapeutic outcomes of ART integration with MDR-TB treatment.DesignA subgroup of MDR-TB patients from the SAPiT study, a randomized controlled trial, conducted in an out-patient clinic in Durban, South Africa from 2008\u20132012MethodsClinical outcomes at 18 months were compared in patients randomized to receive ART within 12 weeks of standard first-line tuberculosis treatment initiation with those who commenced ART after completing tuberculosis treatment.ResultsMycobacterium tuberculosis drug susceptibility was available in 489 (76%) of 642 SAPiT patients; 23 had MDR-TB, 14 in the integrated treatment arm and 9 in the sequential treatment arm. At 18 months, the mortality rate was 11.9/100 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.4\u201342.8) in the combined integrated treatment arm and 56.0/100 person-years (95%CI: 18.2\u2013130.8) in the sequential treatment arm, (Hazard Ratio adjusted for baseline CD4 count and whether MDR-TB treatment was initiated: 0.14; 95% CI: 0.02\u20130.94; P=0.04).ConclusionDespite the small sample size, the 86% reduction in mortality due to early initiation of ART in MDR-TB patients was statistically significant.D43TW00231/TW/FIC NIH HHS/United StatesD43 TW000231/TW/FIC NIH HHS/United States5U26PS001350/PS/NCHHSTP CDC HHS/United StatesU19 AI051794/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United StatesU2G PS001350/PS/NCHHSTP CDC HHS/United StatesPEPFAR/United States2016-02-29T00:00:00Z24429305PMC47700138583vault:1580

Nutraceutical-Based Nanoformulations for Breast and Ovarian Cancer Treatment

Different strategies have been investigated for a more satisfactory treatment of advanced breast cancer, including the adjuvant use of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). These nutritional compounds have been shown to possess potent anti-inflammatory and antiangiogenic activities, the capacity to affect transduction pathways/receptors involved in cell growth and to reprogram tumor microenvironment. Omega-3 PUFA-containing nanoformulations designed for drug delivery in breast cancer were shown to potentiate the effects of enclosed drugs, enhance drug delivery to target sites, and minimize drug-induced side effects. We have critically analyzed here the results of the most recent studies investigating the effects of omega-3 PUFA-containing nanoformulations in breast cancer. The anti-neoplastic efficacy of omega-3 PUFAs has also been convincingly demonstrated by using preclinical in vivo models of ovarian cancer. The results obtained are critically analyzed here and seem to provide a sufficient rationale to move to still lacking interventional clinical trials, as well as to evaluate possible advantages of enclosing omega-3 PUFAs to drug-delivery nanosystems for ovarian cancer. Future perspectives in this area are also provided

Towards a map of the Upper Pleistocene loess of the Po Plain Loess Basin (Northern Italy)

Upper Pleistocene (MIS 4-2) loess sequences occur in most of continental Europe and in Northern Italy along the Po Plain Loess Basin. Loess is distributed along the flanks of the Po Plain and was deposited on glacial deposits, fluvial terraces, uplifted isolated hills, karst plateaus, slopes and basins of secondary valleys. Loess bodies are generally tiny and affected by pedogenesis, being locally slightly reworked by slope processes and bioturbation. Notwithstanding, loess in the Po Plain is an important archive of paleoenviron-mental record and its mapping provides new insights in paleoenvironmental and palaeoseismic reconstructions of Northern Ital