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)

The injecting behaviour and risky needle use of a sample of 193 methadone maintenance clients was investigated. The majority of the sample (n = 116) reported injecting one or more drugs in the month prior to data collection. Compared with non-injectors, the injectors were slightly younger, had been on the methadone program for a shorter period of time, had lower methadone doses and more severe drug and legal problems. The injecting sub-group was examined in more detail by comparing those subjects whose injecting practices conformed to guidelines on minimizing risk of HIV transmission with those who, in the preceding month, made at least one injection contravening these guidelines and thus placed themselves at risk of contracting HIV. A greater proportion of these risky injectors were unemployed. Importantly, risky injectors had lesser knowledge of means of preventing the spread of HIV than safe injectors. It is concluded that the reduction of HIV transmission could be enhanced by improvements in methadone programs, particularly ensuring adequate dosing and high retention rates. Further, there is a need to improve knowledge with regard to what are safe and what are risky injecting practices and needle/syringe cleaning methods.
Drug Alcohol Depend 1994 Jan
PMID:Injecting behaviour and risky needle use amongst methadone maintenance clients. 802 98

We investigated the associations of self-reported HIV status and risky injection practices with dependent variables measuring readiness and motivation for treatment and depression among 550 clients at two residential drug abuse treatment programs. The results suggest that a positive HIV status may be associated with motivation for treatment independently of and more strongly than risky behavior. In multivariable analyses, HIV status was associated with a scale measuring cons of drug use (P = 0.006). Risky behavior was associated with the dependent variables only in univariate analyses. The univariate association between risky behavior and depression was confounded by social desirability bias. Further research is needed to determine whether HIV-related variables predict retention or outcome of treatment.
Drug Alcohol Depend 1994 Jan
PMID:The relationships of HIV status and HIV risky behavior with readiness for treatment. 802

This study investigated the drug use patterns and HIV risk-taking behaviour of 200 injecting drug users (IDU) not currently in treatment in Sydney, Australia. Although there was low HIV seroprevalence, unsafe injecting and sexual practices were common. Variables that were predictive of injecting risk-taking were higher level of heroin use, sexual relationship with an IDU and greater polydrug use. Two variables were predictive of sexual risk-taking: higher level of hallucinogen use and sexual relationship with an IDU. Female subjects were significantly more likely to have an IDU sexual partner. A higher level of cannabis use was associated with greater polydrug use and a higher level of amphetamine use was associated with greater use of opiates other than heroin. The findings are discussed in terms of the need for interventions aimed towards reducing sexual risk-taking among users of hallucinogens and towards reducing injecting and sexual risk-taking among IDU and their sexual partners. The potential difficulty in producing behaviour change among polydrug users is highlighted.
Drug Alcohol Depend 1994 Jan
PMID:Drug use and HIV risk-taking behaviour among injecting drug users not currently in treatment in Sydney, Australia. 802 3

Knowledge of AIDS and its transmission was studied in patients undergoing drug-dependence treatment for opiates and/or cocaine. The study area included all of Spain and was carried out via a questionnaire assessing information about risk practices, HIV serostatus, etc, and 13 true or false questions concerning HIV-transmission knowledge. The main purpose of the present study was to analyse the relationship between the level of information found in patients and factors potentially related to it, including the practice of high-risk activities for HIV transmission, the sources of information and behaviour modification. Findings indicate that poor information was associated with the use of non-sterile needles, anal-penis sexual relations, non-use of condoms, lack of preventive measures in daily cohabitation, and lack of previous drug-dependence treatment. Determining factors of being well-informed were a high level of education, a longer duration of intravenous drug use, and contact with the Health Service as a source of information. These findings partially support the need to implement programs aimed at improving knowledge about HIV in the population of drug users.
Drug Alcohol Depend 1994 Feb
PMID:HIV-transmission knowledge in drug users from outpatient facilities in Spain. A national survey. 803 55

Pneumocystis carinii is an opportunistic pathogen causing life threatening pneumonia (PCP) in immunosuppressed patients and particularly among AIDS patients. Whether the infection results from reactivation or reinfection is debated. Since methods for in vitro cultivation still are not successful, the diagnosis is dependent on direct demonstration of the organism in respiratory specimen. In this thesis laboratory diagnostic methods in terms of staining, sampling, antibody detection and DNA amplification are evaluated. Furthermore, the occurrence of the organism in the Western world versus Africa, and in symptomatic and asymptomatic HIV infected patients is studied and discussed. The use of a monoclonal antibody (MAb), 3F6 in an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFL) was compared to the two most commonly used chemical stains, silver methenamine and toluidine blue. The IFL method detected both cyst and trophozoite stages of P. carinii and was more sensitive than the chemical stains when applied to sputum samples. Among commercialised MAbs for P. carinii detection by IFL, only the indirect tests were readily applicable to ethanol treated HIV inactivated samples. In contrast to the MAb 3F6, (Dakopatts), the MAb from Northumbria stained only a selection of the cysts and no trophozoites. The relative sensitivity of IFL in detecting the organism in sputum samples compared to bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples was estimated to be at least 70%. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which can amplify specific DNA fragments, was used for the demonstration of P. carinii in sputum and BAL specimens. The PCR was shown to be specific and more sensitive than IFL. However, P. carinii DNA was found in a few patients without clinical evidence of present, past or future PCP. Thus the possibility of PCR to detect colonization must be considered. Detection of antibodies to P. carinii by indirect IFL was studied in HIV versus non-HIV patients. A titer rise was seen in 45% of non-HIV patients versus only 3% in HIV patients during a PCP episode. No humoral response was seen in AIDS patients, whereas the serology did support the clinical PCP diagnosis in a proportion of the otherwise immunosuppressed patients. Serology may however not be of help in the acute setting. In the beginning of 1988 PCP had not yet been reported from Central Africa where the AIDS epidemic by then was growing fast. The occurrence of P. carinii in Central Africa was evaluated by a comparative study on induced sputum samples from HIV infected patients with pulmonary infection in Stockholm, Sweden and Lusaka, Zambia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
 ...
PMID:Laboratory diagnosis and occurrence of Pneumocystis carinii. 805 27

The prevalence of DSM-III-R personality disorders were assessed in a sample of 179 male methadone maintained opiate addicts. The discriminant validity of three personality disorder (PD) groupings were compared with respect to Axis I disorders, functioning in a number of important life areas, risk for HIV infection, and social judgment/sensitivity. Results showed that a PD, regardless of the number or type, identified patients with more employment, family/social, and psychiatric problems, increased risk for HIV infection, and poor social judgment/sensitivity. Few differences were revealed when three clusters of PDs (Cluster A, B, and C) were compared. With few exceptions, subjects with antisocial PD were no worse off than those with any other PD with respect to current functioning.
Drug Alcohol Depend 1994 Mar
PMID:Relationships of personality disorders with problem severity in methadone patients. 808 58

Recently, cases of porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) have been reported associated with infection due to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We presented the cases of three males, former ethanol users, and which have had previously a contact with the Hepatitis B virus. In one of the patients symptomatology appeared after treatment with zidovudine was begun. We suggest that HIV infection associated with other toxic or viral factors could contribute to the early development of a PCT latent until that moment.
 ...
PMID:[Porphyria cutanea tarda and human immunodeficiency virus infection]. 809 47

Here we review existing evidence that alcohol intake may influence the susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and the effect that alcohol may have on accelerating the onset of AIDS after the initial infection. Possible immunological and psychosocial mechanisms to explain the increased incidence of HIV-1 infection in alcoholism are discussed.
Alcohol
PMID:Human studies on alcohol and susceptibility to HIV infection. 820 8

In this study we examined the in vitro effects of alcohol on the proliferative responses of lymphocytes from healthy donors and AIDS patients to a recombinant fusion peptide, env-gag, corresponding to portions of the gp41 envelope (env) and internal core (gag) proteins of HIV. The effects of alcohol (ETOH) on the natural killer (NK) cell activities of lymphocytes from healthy donors and patients with AIDS were also investigated. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from both normal donors and AIDS patients produced significant levels of lymphocyte proliferative responses to the HIV env-gag peptide; however, these responses were significantly higher in patients with AIDS, showing the specificity of the response. The env-gag-induced proliferative responses of lymphocytes from normal subjects were significantly suppressed when cultures contained only higher levels of ETOH (0.2% and 0.3%), whereas ETOH even at a lower level (0.1%) produced significant suppression of the env-gag-induced proliferation of lymphocytes only from AIDS patients. Direct addition of ETOH at concentrations of 0.1%, 0.2%, and 0.3% to cultures of lymphocytes from normal donors and NK target cells did not produce significant suppression of NK cell activities. However, ETOH at concentrations of 0.2% and 0.3% significantly suppressed the NK activities of lymphocytes from AIDS patients, and the suppressive effect was observed at all E:T cell ratios examined. Control peptide from the Escherichia coli expression vector did not produce any significant effect on lymphocyte proliferative responses or NK activity of both normal donors and AIDS patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Alcohol
PMID:Selective effect of alcohol on cellular immune responses of lymphocytes from AIDS patients. 820 7

This report describes experiments assessing the effectiveness against HIV of potential disinfecting agents that are commonly available to IDU when they are sharing syringes. We exposed cell-free HIV, HIV-infected cells, and HIV-infected blood containing known quantities of HIV to household cleaning agents, alcohols, peroxide, and highly acidic materials for 1 min, in order to examine the effects of these materials on the infectivity of the HIV. Undiluted liquid laundry bleach and dilute liquid dish detergent reduced the number of culturable HIV to an undetectable level under the experimental conditions used. Diluted bleach was not completely effective. Other potential disinfecting agents, including ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide, were unable to disinfect high numbers of HIV-infected cells or infected blood. Liquid dish detergent warrants further study as a possible acceptable alternative to bleach. Our data provide support for recommendations to IDU that they disinfect shared syringes every time between users with full-strength liquid laundry bleach to reduce their risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV. When bleach is not available, liquid dish detergent or other available disinfecting agents such as rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or high alcohol content beverages are more effective than water at disinfecting HIV, recognizing that these materials are less effective than bleach. Although these materials are effective, they should not be viewed as a substitute for decreased sharing of injection equipment by IDU, or increased availability of sterile needles and syringes.
 ...
PMID:In vitro activity of readily available household materials against HIV-1: is bleach enough? 820 58


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