Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0019693 (HIV)
 170,526 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Eight patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) presented complications affecting the nervous system. The complaints were headache, seizure, confusion or hallucination. Neurologic manifestations included meningitis, focal deficits, cranial nerve palsy, and dementia. Cerebrospinal fluid exhibited a decrease in the percentage of T helper lymphocytes with an inverted helper-to-suppressor cell ratio. The neurologic manifestations of AIDS may depend on multiple factors, such as HIV infection of the central nervous system, concomitant infections with other agents or meningeal invasion by systemic lymphoma or Kaposi's sarcoma. Many patients develop a diffuse encephalopathy which characteristically begins with impaired concentration and mild memory loss, and progresses to severe global cognitive impairment and dementia. Perivascular infiltrates and scattered microglial nodules, consisting of aggregates of microglia and astrocytes, are the most common findings in these patients.
 ...
PMID:[Neurologic complications accompanying acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS): study of a group of 8 cases]. 295 8

This article provides a clinically-oriented overview of palliative care for patients with AIDS. Indicators of decreased survival time are divided into categories of infections/illnesses, clinical signs and symptoms, immunological and serological markers, and psychosocial factors. Primary symptoms in AIDS are discussed according to etiology and treatment. However, treatments of opportunistic infections per se are not directly addressed in this article. Problems discussed include pain, confusion, depression and anxiety, fatigue, fever, dyspnea, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, wasting, and dehydration. The article also briefly addresses clinical and ethical questions and challenges presented by AIDS to hospice or palliative care providers, and the various stages of HIV infection.
 ...
PMID:Palliative care for patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. 749 35

Psychotropic drugs are frequently employed to treat the wide range of neuropsychiatric syndromes that patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may develop. In order to administer these agents properly, physicians should take certain factors into account: the central nervous systems of these patients are often impaired, the patients tend to suffer from medical illnesses, and they may be taking various other drugs. The possible interactions between substances taken by these patients may sometimes make it necessary to adjust the dosage of psychotropic agents administered. In addition, some of the antimicrobial, antifungal and antiviral agents used in the management of HIV infection may have adverse effects that include neuropsychiatric symptoms. The use of antipsychotic agents in these patients frequently results in the development of extrapyramidal symptoms. Tricyclic antidepressants are not well tolerated by patients with AIDS, due to the anticholinergic effects of these agents. The new antidepressants, which have fewer and milder adverse effects, are safer and have shown their efficacy in the treatment of the depressive episodes often seen in HIV-infected patients. Benzodiazepines must be prescribed with caution in patients with HIV infection and organic brain syndrome, since they can produce amnesia, confusion, lack of inhibition and paradoxical reactions. The indications for the use of psychostimulants in certain clinical situations, such as HIV-associated dementia and depression, is open to debate. Opiates are indicated in pain treatment, and in methadone maintenance programmes. Lithium and carbamazepine are advisable only in very restricted situations.
 ...
PMID:Use of psychotropic drugs in patients with HIV infection. 751 59

A safe and effective HIV vaccine to prevent infection and/or to moderate disease is urgently needed. Research progress has been slower than anticipated for a variety of reasons including uncertainty over which immunogen to use (i.e. recombinant subunit envelope proteins or whole HIV-1 products), confusion on which immunological markers best correlate with protection, the relevance of the HIV-1 chimpanzee model to infection in humans and the significance of the rapid evolution of HIV-1, with different clades of the virus emerging in different parts of the world. However, what some would interpret as encouraging results, from Phase I and II trials of recombinant envelope glycoprotein vaccines, have raised the question of whether the time is right to start Phase III trials in humans with immunogens that may have low to moderate efficacy. By using mathematical models and data from epidemiological studies, we examine the potential impact of such vaccines within heterosexual communities with high rates of infection. Analyses suggest that it will be difficult to block HIV-1 transmission even with very high levels of mass vaccination. The cost of sustaining high levels of herd immunity with a vaccine of short protection duration is likely to be high. However, assessments of impact over the long duration of an HIV-1 epidemic indicate that many cases of HIV infection and associated mortality can be prevented by immunogens with efficacy of 50% or less and a five year protection duration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Potential impact of low efficacy HIV-1 vaccines in populations with high rates of infection. 756 69

HIV-associated dementia may pose communication challenges to healthcare staff. It is essential to obtain an accurate assessment of the confusion in order to achieve a baseline from which to evaluate a patient. It is important to communicate in a way that conveys worth and value to the patient. The expertise of the multidisciplinary team should be drawn on when working with such patients.
 ...
PMID:Assessing patients with HIV-associated dementia. 760 58

WHO projections suggest that the annual number of tuberculosis (TB) cases worldwide will reach 10.2 million by the year 2000. HIV plays a dominant role in this increase in many resource-poor countries. The internationally recommended treatment regimens for TB combine some of the six major antituberculosis drugs: isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, ethambutol, streptomycin, and thiacetazone. WHO treatment guidelines give priority to patients according to the nature of their disease and recommend two regimens of 6-8 months duration, the longer regimen incorporating thiacetazone. Recently, WHO has favored a 6-month treatment regimen given as directly observed therapy (DOT). The disadvantages of the standard approach are the heavy workload of smear examinations, the complexity of some drug regimens, and the low rates of therapy completion. With the increasing TB case load in areas of high HIV infection prevalence, laboratories cannot do initial as well as follow-up smear examinations. In Botswana the proportion of smear-positive TB cases declined to 40% in 1992, but the overall proportion of patients who had smears performed had declined (52% in 1992). The multiple regimens in use cause confusion and nonadherence to guidelines. Nonadherence is the major risk factor for the emergence of drug resistance, and low completion rates are the most obvious signs of inadequate control programs. Alternative approaches mean ensuring high completion rates and using the most effective drugs. Regarding diagnosis, research might show that the number of smears could be reduced depending on the initial reading. There is no reason why a rifampicin-based short-course regimen could not replace the multiple regimens now in use. Rifampicin-containing regimens of 62-78 doses given intermittently have been effective and are suitable for use within a DOT program. For prevention of drug resistance, only pills combining different drugs should be used and rifampicin should be limited to the treatment of TB and leprosy.
 ...
PMID:Tuberculosis control in resource-poor countries: alternative approaches in the era of HIV. 862 69

The interpretation of dual seroreactivity with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV-2 in blood samples is a serious problem facing AIDS researchers worldwide. Some samples of sera from HIV-1-infected patients showed a serological cross-reaction with HIV-2, causing confusion regarding the serodiagnosis. Therefore, we tried to differentiate these serum samples from those containing real mixed infections with both types of virus. Sera from patients with HIV-1 infections with HIV-2 cross-reacting antibody in Japan were distinguished from sera from patients with mixed infections with HIV-1 and HIV-2 in West Africa by our serological cross-absorption test, which proved to be highly specific and useful for serodiagnosis.
 ...
PMID:Differentiation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infections with HIV-2-cross-reacting antibody from mixed infections with HIV-1 and HIV-2 by serological absorption test. 766 36

Between June 1986 and October 1992, disseminated toxoplasmosis was diagnosed in 16 AIDS patients. 13 cases were diagnosed at autopsy where multiple organ involvement was documented in all 13. Three patients were diagnosed intra vitam. All 3 survived with appropriate treatment. Clinical features indicative of disseminated toxoplasmosis were: fever of unknown origin between 39 degrees and 40 degrees C in 16 cases, clinical signs suggestive of sepsis or septic shock in 15, with progression to multiorgan failure in 10, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy in 6, confusion, disorientation or apathy in 13 and lack of a systemic pneumocystis carinii prophylaxis in all 16. Typical laboratory markers were: CD4 cell counts below 100 x 10(6)/l in 16 cases, elevation of serum lactic dehydrogenase in 16 and creatine phosphokinase (in 4/6), normal or only slightly elevated C-reactive protein (in 9/11), positive Toxoplasma gondii IgG antibodies in 15/16 and negative IgM antibodies in all 16. Lesions indicative of cerebral toxoplasmosis were visualized on cranial computerized tomography in only 3/10 evaluated patients. In patients with advanced HIV infection presenting with a systemic illness, including the clinical and laboratory features described above, systemic Toxoplasma gondii infection must be included in the differential diagnosis. In these patients, specific and if warranted, invasive diagnostic procedures followed by early vigorous therapeutic intervention should be considered.
 ...
PMID:Disseminated toxoplasmosis in AIDS patients--report of 16 cases. 778 18

This paper presents information on changes in public knowledge and attitudes to HIV/AIDS in Wales between 1987 and 1992. The results indicate that throughout this period the majority of adults in Wales were aware of the high risk of infection from sexual intercourse and sharing needles with, and coming into contact with the blood of, someone with HIV. Nevertheless, the proportion who said that sexual intercourse with someone with HIV carries a high risk declined, and in 1992 confusion still remained about the nature of HIV infection amongst a substantial minority of respondents. More than one in ten of the adults in the most recent survey were of the opinion that kissing or being near someone with HIV who is coughing or sneezing carries a high risk of infection. The data also indicate that attitudes to those with HIV remained uneven in 1992. Whilst a greater proportion in 1992 than in 1987 held the view that people with HIV should be able to live normally in the community, attitudes appear to have hardened towards those perceived to be practising high risk behaviours, such as injecting drug users and homosexuals. The data also suggest that attitudes appear to be closely related to levels of knowledge. Given the apparent confusion and prejudice highlighted by the surveys, it is suggested that there is a continuing need for general campaigns to maintain public awareness of HIV-related issues, although this must also be complemented by more in-depth targeted education programmes.
 ...
PMID:Changes in public knowledge and attitudes to HIV/AIDS in Wales, 1987 to 1992. 783 59

Screening groups of anonymous infants for HIV antibody, as an index of maternal infection rates, has been a widely used seroepidemiological method since being introduced in 1986 in Massachusetts (USA). One shortcoming has been the applicability only to parturient women, thus necessitating corrections for fertility rates in extrapolation to all women. A second disadvantage has been controversy and confusion about the distinction between anonymous seroprevalence studies and linked testing. However, there have been major advantages such as the "leading indicator" nature of the data obtained. Experience with screening nearly a half million Massachusetts newborns through December 1992 has shown seroprevalence rates stabilizing at 2.4 per 1000, and with consistent 10-fold differences between groups of birth hospitals serving different socio-economically defined populations. In addition to predicting the future of the AIDS epidemic in children, the information provides a reference point for comparing the completeness of targeted identifications of HIV infection in mothers and infants.
 ...
PMID:HIV mass screening of infants and mothers: historical, technical, and practical issues. 783 59


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>