Toxicity Associated with Stavudine Dose Reduction from 40 to 30 mg in First-Line Antiretroviral Therapy

To compare the incidence and timing of toxicity associated with the use of a reduced dose of stavudine from 40 to 30 mg in first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV treatment and to investigate associated risk factors

The Colocalization Potential of HIV-Specific CD8+ and CD4+ T-Cells is Mediated by Integrin β7 but Not CCR6 and Regulated by Retinoic Acid

CD4+ T-cells from gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT) are major targets for HIV-1 infection. Recruitment of excess effector CD8+ T-cells in the proximity of target cells is critical for the control of viral replication. Here, we investigated the colocalization potential of HIV-specific CD8+ and CD4+ T-cells into the GALT and explored the role of retinoic acid (RA) in regulating this process in a cohort of HIV-infected subjects with slow disease progression. The expression of the gut-homing molecules integrin β7, CCR6, and CXCR3 was identified as a “signature” for HIV-specific but not CMV-specific CD4+ T-cells thus providing a new explanation for their enhanced permissiveness to infection in vivo. HIV-specific CD8+ T-cells also expressed high levels of integrin β7 and CXCR3; however CCR6 was detected at superior levels on HIV-specific CD4+ versus CD8+ T-cells. All trans RA (ATRA) upregulated the expression of integrin β7 but not CCR6 on HIV-specific T-cells. Together, these results suggest that HIV-specific CD8+ T-cells may colocalize in excess with CD4+ T-cells into the GALT via integrin β7 and CXCR3, but not via CCR6. Considering our previous findings that CCR6+CD4+ T-cells are major cellular targets for HIV-DNA integration in vivo, a limited ability of CD8+ T-cells to migrate in the vicinity of CCR6+CD4+ T-cells may facilitate HIV replication and dissemination at mucosal sites

Multicriteria fuzzy assignment method: a useful tool to assist medical diagnosis

The aim of this paper is to provide a concise portrayal of medical applications of a new fuzzy classification method called PROAFTN, which uses a multicriteria decision aid approach. The review summarises and discusses medical applications of the proposed method in acute leukemia, astrocytic and bladder tumours. Although still an investigative method, the preliminary results are very encouraging and demonstrate the potential performances of this procedure for solving medical classification problems. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Application of PROAFTN method to assist astrocytic tumors . . .

We recently developed a new classification method named PROAFTN. This method belongs to the multicriteria decision aid area. In this study the authors attempt to evaluate the performances of the proposed method for characterizing the astrocytic tumors aggressiveness. For this purpose, 250 cases of astrocytic tumors including 39 cases of astrocytomas, 47 cases of anaplastic astrocytomas and 164 cases of glioblastomas were tested by PROAFTN method. Each case was defined by 26 parameters generated by computer-assisted microscope analysis of cell image and submitted to PROAFTN method, which determines the fuzzy belonging degrees into each astrocytic tumors subgroup. The performances of the method were evaluated using the k-fold cross-validation technique. The complexity of the astrocytic tumors is such that the method was unable to provide full classification of all cases. Despite the fact that the error rate of classification is higher the preliminary results are similar to those obtained..