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Query: UMLS:C0019693 (HIV)
 170,526 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

With the introduction of modern contraceptives (i.e., oral contraceptives and IUDs), women in France as well as those in Europe in general tend not to use vaginal contraceptives as their principal contraceptive method. Vaginal contraceptives include the condom, diaphragm, and spermicide in the form of a pessary, tablet, jelly, cream, or sponge. When vaginal contraceptives are used correctly, they have an acceptable efficacy and are useful, at least as interim methods. It is important to also consider their part in protecting against sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. Further, the vaginal barrier methods, the condom and the diaphragm, provide significant protection against cervical cancer. 14% of women aged 15-49 in France and 90 million women worldwide use the IUD. Worldwide, the IUD is the primary reversible contraceptive method used. The contraceptive mode of action of the IUD is not yet clearly understood. The most popular IUD is the copper-releasing IUD. The IUD releasing progesterone or a synthetic progestin is useful in treating anemia, menorrhagia, or dysmenorrhea.
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PMID:[Vaginal and intrauterine contraception]. 857 Oct 52

There is compelling evidence that micronutrients can profoundly affect immunity. We surveyed vitamin supplement use and circulating concentrations of 22 nutrients and glutathione in 64 HIV-1 seropositive men and women and 33 seronegative controls participating in a study of heterosexual HIV-1 transmission. We assayed antioxidants (vitamins A, C, and E; total carotenes), vitamins B6 and B12, folate, thiamin, niacin, biotin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, free and total choline and carnitine, biopterin, inositol, copper, zinc, selenium, and magnesium. HIV-infected patients had lower mean circulating concentrations of magnesium (p < 0.0001), total carotenes (p = 0.009), total choline (p = 0.002), and glutathione (p = 0.045), and higher concentrations of niacin (p < 0.0001) than controls. Fifty-nine percent of HIV+ patients had low concentrations of magnesium, compared with 9% of controls (p < 0.0001). These abnormal concentrations were unrelated to stage of disease. Participants who took vitamin supplements had consistently fewer low concentrations of antioxidants, across HIV infection status and disease stage strata (p = 0.0006). Nevertheless, 29% of the HIV+ patients taking supplemental vitamins had subnormal levels of one or more antioxidants. The frequent occurrence of abnormal micronutrient nutriture, as found in these HIV+ subjects, may contribute to disease pathogenesis. The low magnesium concentrations may be particularly relevant to HIV-related symptoms of fatigue, lethargy, and impaired mentation.
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PMID:Micronutrient profiles in HIV-1-infected heterosexual adults. 862 65

During December 1985 to November 1986, in Zambia, clinicians provided information on 1595 HIV-positive patients to assess the age and sex distribution and clinical features of HIV-positive patients. 92.2% of the HIV-positive patients were from the Copper Province, especially the towns of Ndola (44.9%) and Kitwe (28.9%). 101 HIV-positive patients were under 2 years old, 69 were aged 2-14 years, and 1418 were 15 years old or older. The most common clinical features of HIV infection in all age groups were weight loss/malnutrition (about 50%) and generalized lymphadenopathy (35.1%). They were malnutrition (56.5%), chronic chest infection (48.2%), chronic diarrhea (43.5%), and generalized lymphadenopathy (43.5%) for children aged under 2; generalized lymphadenopathy (60.3%), chronic chest infection (58.6%), weight loss/malnutrition (55.2%), and chronic diarrhea (17.2%) for children aged 2-14; and weight loss (49.3%), generalized lymphadenopathy (33.4%), chronic chest infection (32.3%), chronic diarrhea (29.6%), herpes zoster (14.7%), and sexually transmitted diseases (10.6%) for people aged 15 and older. Generalized lymphadenopathy was significantly more common in the 2-14 year old group than the older age group (60.3% vs. 33.4%; p 0.05). People aged 15 and over were significantly less likely to have chronic chest infection than the other age groups (32.3% vs. 48.2-58.6%; p 0.05). The male/female ratio was 1:0.93 in the 15 and older age group. Solid education of school-aged children before they become sexually active provides the best hope for controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia.
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PMID:Clinical features of HIV seropositive Zambian subjects. 866 98

Diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC), a potent copper chelating agent, has long been used for the treatment of oxygen toxicity to the central nervous system, as an immunomodulator to treat cancer, and in HIV-infected patients. We evaluated the antioxidant properties of DDC, including its scavenging of reactive oxygen species, its reducing properties, its iron-chelating properties, and its protective effects on oxidant-induced damage to brain tissue, protein, human LDL, and DNA. It is found that DDC is a powerful reductant and antioxidant since it scavenges hypochlorous acid, hydroxyl radical and peroxynitrite; it chelates, then oxidizes ferrous ions; it blocks the generation of hydroxyl radicals and inhibits oxidative damage to deoxyribose, protein, DNA, and human LDL. These findings may provide an explanation for the apparent beneficial effects of DDC against oxidative stress-related diseases that have been observed in experimental and clinical studies.
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PMID:Antioxidant activity of diethyldithiocarbamate. 880 89

Evaluation of liver biopsies in hepatitis C is aimed at confirming the clinical and serologic diagnosis, grading of necroinflammatory activity, staging of consecutive fibrosis, ruling out or confirming liver diseases of different etiology, and assessment of therapeutic effects. Usually, the course of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is slow, with mild inflammatory changes. Nevertheless, even in mild asymptomatic chronic hepatitis C episodes of higher inflammatory activity associated with extensive piecemeal necrosis and porto-central bridging, necrosis can accelerate the course of the disease. For this reason, the traditional, morphologically based classification of chronic hepatitis and the term "chronic persistent hepatitis" have lost their predictive usefulness, especially in hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis should be characterized by etiologic designation as well as grade and stage of the disease. Portal lymphoid aggregates, some inflammatory bile duct damage and mild steatosis are the most characteristic features by which hepatitis C can be differentiated from other progressive inflammatory liver diseases. Antibodies directed against HCV antigens allow identification of viral proteins by immunohistochemistry. Immunostaining for hepatitis B antigens, for alpha-1-antitrypsin and copper staining are helpful in detecting hepatitis B and congenital liver diseases (Wilson's disease, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency) as possible causes of chronic progressive inflammatory liver disease. Centrilobular Mallory's hyalin, identified by immunostaining for ubiquitin in combination with perivenular fibrosis, is helpful in diagnosing concomitant alcoholic liver disease. In our own biopsy material (n = 100) and autopsy material (n = 58), HIV/HCV-coinfected patients have a significantly higher rate of fibrosis and cirrhosis than HIV patients without HCV infection. Hepatitis C can apparently aggravate the course of HIV infection. Our morphologic findings support the clinical observation that chronic HCV infection seems to be the main cause of liver failure, especially in the risk group of HCV/HIV-coinfected hemophiliacs.
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PMID:Histopathologic findings in chronic hepatitis C. 883 87

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) was inactivated by either cupric or ferric ions when the virus was free in solution and also 3 hr after cell infection. Fifty percent inactivation of cell-free HIV was achieved with Cu(II) at a concentration between 0.16 and 1.6 mM, or by 1.8 to 18 mM Fe(III). Thus, the dose to inactivate 50% of infectious HIV (D50) by Cu(II) or Fe(III) is higher than that reported for glutaraldehyde (0.1 mM); between the D50 reported for sodium hypochlorite (1.3 mM) and sodium hydroxide (11.5 mM), and significantly lower than that required for HIV inactivation by ethanol (360 mM). Treatment of infected cells for 30 min at 20 degrees C with 6 mM Cu(II) or Fe(III) completely inhibited the formation of syncytia and the synthesis of virus-specific p24 antigen in HIV-infected cells, while still preserving cell viability. The virucidal properties of cupric and ferric ions could be exploited for the development of novel virucidal formulations efficient against HIV.
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PMID:Cupric and ferric ions inactivate HIV. 890 94

1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), a 5-imino analog of 1-deoxyglucose, is a potent inhibitor of alpha-glucosidase 1. DNJ and its derivatives have been considered as experimental drugs against human HIV-1 and hepatitis B viruses. Since amino and imino ligands have a high affinity for copper, it seems possible that biological activity of DNJ may be, at least in part, modulated by tissue copper. To test this possibility, potentiometric and spectroscopic studies of the complexation of DNJ by cupric ions were performed in order to obtain thermodynamic and structural background for further pharmacologic investigations. The effect of histidine, a major tissue copper carrier, on coordination equilibria was also studied. Results indicate that DNJ and Cu(II) form two stable complexes at physiological pH, CuH-1(DNJ)2+ and CuH-2(DNJ)2, involving Cu(II) chelation by the N-5 and O-6 donor atoms. In the presence of histidine, ternary complexes are also formed, of which the CuDNJHis+ species is stable in the physiological pH range. Binary Cu(II)-DNJ complexes are extremely effective mediators of in vitro oxidation of the guanine moiety in both 2'-deoxyguanosine (dG) and DNA to 8-oxoguanine (8-oxo-dG) and of DNA double strand scission by ambient O2 or H2O2. This mediation is suppressed by histidine in dG, but not in DNA. The results suggest that tissue Cu(II) may greatly enhance nonspecific cytotoxic effects of systemically administered DNJ through oxidative damage mechanisms, and therefore the prospective use of DNJ for therapeutic purposes must be developed with caution. On the other hand, however, the expected high genotoxic potential of synthetic Cu(II)-DNJ complexes may be used against viruses by means of targeted delivery of these complexes to the infected cells.
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PMID:Copper(II) interactions with an experimental antiviral agent, I-deoxynojirimycin, and oxygen activation by resulting complexes. 891 12

The biological effects of the HIV-1 accessory protein, Vpr, have been studied in yeast expression systems. In our previous study [1], employing the pCUP1-vpr copper-inducible expression cassette, Vpr was shown to cause growth arrest and structural defects. In this study yeast constitutively expressing vpr, through elevated copy number and/or elevated transcription levels, displayed no growth arrest in fermentative growth conditions while Vpr was produced at much lower levels than in the inducible expression system. However, such cells were respiratory deficient and unable to utilise ethanol or glycerol as the sole carbon source. They exhibited gross mitochondrial dysfunction displayed in the loss of respiratory chain complex I, II, III, IV and citrate synthase activities. The effects on mitochondria required a C-terminal domain of Vpr that contains a conserved amino acid sequence motif HFRIGCRHSRIG. These results suggest that the widely observed phenomenon of 'Vpr-induced growth arrest' in human cells could be due to mitochondrial dysfunction.
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PMID:HIV-1 protein Vpr causes gross mitochondrial dysfunction in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 923 18

Functional, excessive-possibly temporary-deficiencies of the trace element zinc can change immune functions prematurely from predominantly cellular Th1 responses to humoral Th2 responses. T helper (Th1) cells produce cytokines such as interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon gamma, thereby controlling viral infections and other intracellular pathogens more effectively than Th2 responses through cytokines such as IL-4, IL-5, IL-6 and IL-10. The accelerated shift from the production of extra Th1 cells during these cellular immune activities to more Th2 cells with their predominantly humoral immune functions, caused by such a zinc deficiency, adversely influences the course of diseases such as leprosy, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis and AIDS, and can result in allergies. It is noteworthy that AIDS viruses (HIVs) do not replicate in Th1 cells, which probably contain more zinc, but preferentially in the Th0 and Th2 cells; all the more so, because zinc and copper ions are known to inhibit intracellular HIV replication. Considering the above Th1/Th2 switch, real prospects seem to be offered of vaccination against such parasites as Leishmania and against HIVs.
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PMID:Zinc-controlled Th1/Th2 switch significantly determines development of diseases. 924

Cryptococcosis, caused by an encapsulated fungus, Cryptococcus neoformans, has emerged as a life threatening infection in HIV positive individuals and other immunocompromised hosts. The present review describes laccase and its product melanin as an important virulence factor of Cryptococcus neoformans and illustrates the approaches used in elucidating the pathogenesis of cryptococcosis. Characterization of the biochemical pathways leading to melanin synthesis is summarized using biochemical and biomolecular approaches. Melanin synthesis is dependent on a single copper-dependent enzyme, laccase. Since the mammalian host does not contain this enzyme, laccase is an attractive candidate for the study of fungal pathogenesis, as well as a drug target. The cloning of the CNLAC1 gene and construction of CNLAC1 gene knock-out strains has confirmed its role in the virulence of Cryptococcus. Also described is the role of melanin in the host-pathogen interactions. Melanin may protect Cryptococcus cells by a variety of methods including anti-oxidant or cell wall surface effects thereby offering protection against numerous effectors of cellular immunity.
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PMID:Laccase and melanin in the pathogenesis of Cryptococcus neoformans. 934 5


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