42 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Sofosbuvir and Ribavirin Therapy for Children Aged 3 to <12 Years With Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 2 or 3 Infection.
Currently, the only approved hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment for children aged <12 years is pegylated interferon plus ribavirin. In an open-label study, we evaluated the safety and efficacy of sofosbuvir plus ribavirin for 12 weeks in children aged 3 to <12 years chronically infected with genotype 2 or for 24 weeks in patients with genotype 3. Patients aged 3 to <6 years weighing <17 kg received sofosbuvir 150 mg, and patients aged 3 to <6 years weighing ≥17 kg and all patients aged 6 to <12 years received sofosbuvir 200 mg once daily. Intensive pharmacokinetic sampling conducted in each age group confirmed the appropriateness of sofosbuvir doses. For all patients, ribavirin dosing was determined by baseline weight (up to 1,400 mg/day, two divided doses). The primary efficacy endpoint was sustained virologic response 12 weeks after therapy (SVR12). Fifty-four patients were enrolled (41 aged 6 to <12 years and 13 aged 3 to <6 years). Most were treatment naïve (98%) and infected perinatally (94%). All but one patient achieved SVR12 (53/54, 98%; 95% confidence interval, 90%-100%). The patient who did not achieve SVR12 was a 4-year-old who discontinued treatment after 3 days because of "abnormal drug taste." The most commonly reported adverse events in patients aged 6 to <12 years were vomiting (32%) and headache (29%), and those in patients aged 3 to <6 years were vomiting (46%) and diarrhea (39%). One 3-year-old patient had a serious adverse event of accidental ribavirin overdose requiring hospitalization for monitoring; this patient completed treatment and achieved SVR12. Conclusion: Sofosbuvir plus ribavirin was well tolerated and highly effective in children aged 3 to <12 years with chronic HCV genotype 2 or 3 infection
Description of a "Trans-Saharan" strain of human T-Lymphotropic virus type 1 in West Africa
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and the molecular epidemiology of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) in a group of pregnant women living in Guinea Bissau. We studied 427 consecutive pregnant women attending 10 centers for HIV-1 infection monitoring in Bissau. HTLV-1 infection was found in 2.6% of the patients. Phylogenetic analysis of the long terminal repeat region showed that 10 isolates were of the cosmopolitan subtype (HTLV-1a) and that only 1 was of the widespread Central African subtype (HTLV-1b). All the cosmopolitan isolates belonged to the HTLV-1aD subgroup, which was first described in North Africa and clustered with other Senegal and Guinea isolates to form a significant West African clade. Our data show a high prevalence of HTLV-1 in Guinea Bissau and suggest the existence of a trans-Saharan strain distributed in North and West Africa, which probably crossed the desert in the past as a result of contacts between nomadic and sedentary populations or along trading routes
A cost-effectiveness analysis of shortened direct-acting antiviral treatment in genotype 1 noncirrhotic treatment-naive patients with chronic hepatitis C virus
BACKGROUND:Direct-acting antivirals are successful in curing hepatitis C virus infection in more than 95% of patients treated for 12 weeks, but they are expensive. Shortened treatment durations, which may have lower cure rates, have been proposed to reduce costs. OBJECTIVES:To evaluate the lifetime cost-effectiveness of different shortened treatment durations for genotype 1 noncirrhotic treatment-naive patients. METHODS:Assuming a UK National Health Service perspective, we used a probabilistic decision tree and Markov model to compare 3 unstratified shortened treatment durations (8, 6, and 4 weeks) against a standard 12-week treatment duration. Patients failing shortened first-line treatment were re-treated with a 12-week treatment regimen. Parameter inputs were taken from published studies. RESULTS:The 8-week treatment duration had an expected incremental net monetary benefit of £7737 (95% confidence interval £3242-£11 819) versus the standard 12-week treatment, per 1000 patients. The 6-week treatment had a positive incremental net monetary benefit, although some uncertainty was observed. The probability that the 8- and 6-week treatments were the most cost-effective was 56% and 25%, respectively, whereas that for the 4-week treatment was 17%. Results were generally robust to sensitivity analyses, including a threshold analysis that showed that the 8-week treatment was the most cost-effective at all drug prices lower than £40 000 per 12-week course. CONCLUSIONS:Shortening treatments licensed for 12 weeks to 8 weeks is cost-effective in genotype 1 noncirrhotic treatment-naive patients. There was considerable uncertainty in the estimates for 6- and 4-week treatments, with some indication that the 6-week treatment may be cost-effective
The good and evil of flare: flares in hepatitis B virus chronic hepatitis
Treatment of HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B with pegylated interferon achieves HBeAg seroconversion in about 30% of patients and retreatment of nonresponders is followed by a low rate of sustained response. Alanine aminotransferase flares occurring after the introduction of interferon are considered a positive predictor of response. Here we described a young patient with active chronic hepatitis B who underwent four different treatment courses developing lamivudine resistance and showing three elevated flares of different origin and with diverse outcome. We discuss the meaning of each flare and their role in treatment response or virus reactivation
Increased risk of developing peripheral neuropathy in patients coinfected with HIV-1 and HTLV-2
One thousand one hundred fifty-two HIV-1-positive patients were screened for HTLV-2 infection, and the AIDS-free coinfected individuals were consecutively included in a longitudinal study with the aim of investigating the role of HTLV-2 in the progression to AIDS and the development of specific neurologic diseases. Two matched HIV-1-positive/HTLV-2-negative controls for each coinfected individual were also enrolled in the study. HTLV-2 infection was found in 95 (8.2%) of the HIV-1-positive patients, 30 of whom were followed up for a median of 28.5 months. No significant differences were observed between them and the patients infected with HIV-1 alone in terms of the rate of decline in CD4 cell counts, progression to AIDS, or AIDS mortality, but they had an increased risk of developing peripheral neuropathy (hazard ratio, 3.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.3-8.0; p = .009). One coinfected patient developed myelopathy during the follow-up. In the second part of the study, aimed at preliminarily assessing the effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on the incidence of peripheral neuropathy, we extended our observations to two groups of coinfected and singly infected individuals receiving HAART. An 80% decrease in incidence of peripheral neuropathy was observed among both groups without any significant difference between them. These results support the hypothesis that HTLV-2 plays a role in the development of neurologic abnormalities in HIV-1-infected patients and suggest that the immune reconstitution due to HAART may limit the activity of HTLV-2 as an opportunistic agent
Correlates of risk of adipose tissue alterations and their modifications over time in HIV-1-infected women treated with antiretroviral therapy
Objective: To assess the correlates of risk of the different types of lipodystrophy and their modifications over time in a cohort of HIV-positive women receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Methods: A consecutive series of HIV-infected women receiving ART was prospectively enrolled between 1 and 31 March 1998, and followed up for 2 years. Adipose tissue alterations (ATAs) and their variations over time were assessed by means of clinical observation and anthropometric measurements, and logistic regression analysis was used to describe the associated risk factors identified by univariate and multivariate analyses. Results: One-hundred-and-seventeen of the 212 women (55.2%) developed ATAs during the 24 months of follow-up. Central adiposity was observed in 95 patients and peripheral lipoatrophy in 91, with 21 patients (9.9%) showing pure lipoatrophy, 26 (12.3%) pure fat accumulation and 70 (33%) combined forms. Only six of the 223 regional adipose tissue alterations identified in 74 patients during the first 12 months of the study had disappeared by month 24. Of the 43 patients who developed breast enlargement during the first 12 months, 11 (25.6%) showed a decrease in breast size during the second year of follow-up that was unrelated to changes in therapy or therapeutic success. The development of ATAs during the first 12 months of follow-up independently correlated with protease inhibitor (PI) use (OR 2.81, P=0.002) but, by the end of the second year of follow-up, the only factor significantly related to the development of ATAs was the overall duration of ART (OR 1.85, P=0.041). The use of PI significantly increased the risk of developing central adiposity during the first 12 months of the study (OR 2.27, P=0.002), whereas the only variable significantly influencing the risk at month 24 was HIV-infection due to intravenous drug use, which proved to be protective (OR 0.53, P=0.043). During the first 12 months of follow-up, the development of peripheral lipoatrophy was significantly associated with stavudine (OR 2.19, P=0.037) and PI use at enrolment (OR 2.27, P=0.023). At the end of the study, the variables associated with peripheral lipoatrophy were stavudine use at enrolment (OR 2.82, P=0.002), ART exposure for >1000 days at enrolment (OR 2.32, P=0.007), a CD4 cell count of >200/\ub5l at enrolment (OR 2.89, P=0.002) and an age of >28 years (OR 1.91, P=0.036). The only factor significantly associated with an increased risk of breast enlargement during the first 12 months of follow-up was PI use (adjusted OR 2.51; 95% CI: 1.16\u20135.46, P=0.02); however, at month 24, none of the tested variables was associated with a significantly increased risk of this ATA. Conclusions: ATAs (particularly central adiposity) are frequent in women treated with ART, and the different forms have different correlates of risk. Once they have become clinically evident, they generally tend to remain or worsen, and improve in only a small minority of cases. The considerable variations in adipomasty over time are apparently unrelated to changes in ART
Correlates of risk of adipose tissue alterations and their modifications over time in HIV-1-infected women treated with antiretroviral therapy
OBJECTIVE: To assess the correlates of risk of the different types of lipodystrophy and their modifications over time in a cohort of HIV-positive women receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). METHODS: A consecutive series of HIV-infected women receiving ART was prospectively enrolled between 1 and 31 March 1998, and followed up for 2 years. Adipose tissue alterations (ATAs) and their variations over time were assessed by means of clinical observation and anthropometric measurements, and logistic regression analysis was used to describe the associated risk factors identified by univariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: One-hundred-and-seventeen of the 212 women (55.2%) developed ATAs during the 24 months of follow-up. Central adiposity was observed in 95 patients and peripheral lipoatrophy in 91, with 21 patients (9.9%) showing pure lipoatrophy, 26 (12.3%) pure fat accumulation and 70 (33%) combined forms. Only six of the 223 regional adipose tissue alterations identified in 74 patients during the first 12 months of the study had disappeared by month 24. Of the 43 patients who developed breast enlargement during the first 12 months, 11 (25.6%) showed a decrease in breast size during the second year of follow-up that was unrelated to changes in therapy or therapeutic success. The development of ATAs during the first 12 months of follow-up independently correlated with protease inhibitor (PI) use (OR 2.81, P=0.002) but, by the end of the second year of follow-up, the only factor significantly related to the development of ATAs was the overall duration of ART (OR 1.85, P=0.041). The use of PI significantly increased the risk of developing central adiposity during the first 12 months of the study (OR 2.27, P=0.002), whereas the only variable significantly influencing the risk at month 24 was HIV-infection due to intravenous drug use, which proved to be protective (OR 0.53, P=0.043). During the first 12 months of follow-up, the development of peripheral lipoatrophy was significantly associated with stavudine (OR 2.19, P=0.037) and PI use at enrolment (OR 2.27, P=0.023). At the end of the study, the variables associated with peripheral lipoatrophy were stavudine use at enrolment (OR 2.82, P=0.002), ART exposure for >1000 days at enrolment (OR 2.32, P=0.007), a CD4 cell count of >200/microl at enrolment (OR 2.89, P=0.002) and an age of >28 years (OR 1.91, P=0.036). The only factor significantly associated with an increased risk of breast enlargement during the first 12 months of follow-up was PI use (adjusted OR 2.51; 95% CI: 1.16-5.46, P=0.02); however, at month 24, none of the tested variables was associated with a significantly increased risk of this ATA. CONCLUSIONS: ATAs (particularly central adiposity) are frequent in women treated with ART, and the different forms have different correlates of risk. Once they have become clinically evident, they generally tend to remain or worsen, and improve in only a small minority of cases. The considerable variations in adipomasty over time are apparently unrelated to changes in ART