Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0021051 (immunodeficiency)
 71,517 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We examined mutations in the dihydropteroate synthase (DHPS) genes of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. hominis (P. carinii) strains isolated from 24 patients with P. carinii pneumonia (PCP) in Japan. DHPS mutations were identified at amino acid positions 55 and/or 57 in isolates from 6 (25.0%) of 24 patients. The underlying diseases for these six patients were human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection (n = 4) or malignant lymphoma (n = 2). This frequency was almost the same as those reported in Denmark and the United States. None of the six patients whose isolates had DHPS mutations were recently exposed to sulfa drugs before they developed the current episode of PCP, suggesting that DHPS mutations not only are selected by the pressure of sulfa agents but may be incidentally acquired. Co-trimoxazole treatment failed more frequently in patients whose isolates had DHPS mutations than in those whose isolates had wild-type DHPS (n = 4 [100%] versus n = 2 [11.1%]; P = 0.002). Our results thus suggest that DHPS mutations may contribute to failures of co-trimoxazole treatment for PCP.
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PMID:Relationship between mutations in dihydropteroate synthase of Pneumocystis carinii f. sp. hominis isolates in Japan and resistance to sulfonamide therapy. 1097 Mar 50

A survey conducted in the US, Canada, India, and Thailand found that substantial numbers of health personnel were unaware both of problems associated with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) serologic test and of the asymptomatic stage of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The proportion of surveyed physicians who had treated an HIV-infected patient ranged from a low of 30% in India to a high of 98% in the US. Mean HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) knowledge scores were 83% in India, 84% in Thailand, 92% in Canada, and 93% in the US. Only 67% of health care providers from India understood the concept of false-negative ELISA test results, and only 78% of Canadian and 76% of US respondents understood the meaning of a false-positive result. Awareness of asymptomatic HIV infection ranged from 32% in India to 74% in Canada. The level of comfort in caring for AIDS patients and AIDS knowledge scores were directly correlated with the amount of previous contact with HIV-infected patients. India and Thailand have been identified by the World Health Organization as the countries likely to experience the sharpest increases in HIV in the years ahead. AIDS prevention efforts in these countries have been hindered by religious and cultural proscriptions against public discussions of sexuality, mistaken idea that AIDS is a foreigners' disease, inadequate funding, and concerns about adverse effects on the tourist industry.
Indian Med Trib 1996 Sep 30
PMID:HIV-infection in the US, Canada, India and Thailand. 1217 4

The Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Delhi, in collaboration with the National Institute on Drug Abuse, USA, organized a four-day Indo-US Workshop on Behavioural and Social Research for injectable drug abuse and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention. The workshop was sponsored by the National AIDS Control Organisation, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, Medical Council of India, Indian Council of Medical Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute of Health, USA. Experts from India and abroad shared experiences and discussed various social and behavioral strategies for HIV prevention in injectable drug users, a problem requiring a global approach and response. Professor S.D. Sharma, Director of the Institute of Human Behavior and Allied Sciences, highlighted the objectives of the workshop. Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Shri Paban Singh Ghatowar, promised the government would seriously consider the workshop's recommendations. These include: 1) better dissemination of information and communication among researchers and organizations working in this field; 2) development of better networking and linkages among the researchers, government organizations, and nongovernmental organizations involved; 3) development of formal training programs and workshops in this field; 4) assessment of the treatment approaches and their outcomes; 5) planning and implementation of collaborative multicentric research with well-defined goals; 6) establishment of legal and ethical guidelines to avoid abuse by drug users and their sex partners; 7) restriction of illicit drugs with the potential for abuse, like buprenorphine; 8) generation of hard epidemiological data based on both qualitative and quantitative research; 9) development of community outreach programs and community-based interventions; and 10) establishment of guidelines concerning educational material on HIV prevention in the school curriculum.
Indian Med Trib 1996 Apr 30
PMID:HIV, drug use, unsafe sex -- bad news. 1217 19

Malaria and HIV infection are both prevalent in the areas of the world where these diseases have the largest burden. Both diseases interact with one another and this interaction is especially important in areas with non-continuous malaria transmission, in pregnant women, and in patients with more severe immunodeficiency. Malaria has been implicated in transitory higher viral load and in low CD4 counts, so it could have an influence on higher transmission rates of HIV and perhaps in the course of HIV infection. Infection with HIV has been shown to cause more clinical malaria and higher parasitemia in patients living in perennial transmission areas, and higher rates of severe malaria episodes and mortality in areas where malaria is transmitted with seasonal frequency. The HIV-infected patients have also higher rates of malaria treatment failures. Co-trimoxazole prophylaxis has been shown to be effective in the prevention of some opportunistic infections in HIV-infected patients, but also in prevention of malaria episodes. Antiretroviral protease inhibitors demonstrate antimalarial effects that could have important clinical and therapeutic implications. For all of these reasons, HIV and malaria should be considered together as part of healthcare programs for both diseases in countries where their co-presence favors an interaction with important clinical consequences.
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PMID:HIV and malaria. 1769 76

Human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients attending skin outpatient department were studied for nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and associated factors affecting nasal colonization. Nasal swabs were used for isolation of S. aureus. MRSA were detected by agar screen and agar dilution methods. Careful examination for dermatoses was carried out. Forty-six of the 60 (76.67%) outpatients with HIV infection were colonized with S. aureus in the anterior nares. Significant number of S. aureus carriers were in the 31-40 year age group. Methicillin resistance was found in eight (17.39%) isolates. Of the 46 S. aureus strains, 29 (63%) were resistant to erythromycin, 69.5% to co-trimoxazole and 41.3% to ciprofloxacin. Co-trimoxazole use was found to be a risk factor for S. aureus carriage ( P = 0.0214) but not for methicillin resistance. Hospital stay for more than 10 days was a risk factor for methicillin resistance whereas stay for more than 25 days was found to be a highly significant risk factor. Dermatophytosis and herpes simplex virus infection were other risk factors for nasal carriage of S. aureus.
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PMID:Factors affecting the nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients. 1938 39

Cerebral toxoplasmosis commonly affects patients with advanced HIV immunodeficiency. Toxoplasmosis in patients who are immunocompromised can be severe and debilitating in patients with Central Nervous System (CNS) involvement and the condition may be fatal. We report the case of a 40-year-old man who was a known case of HIV and presented with cerebral toxoplasmosis. His Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan showed multiple ring enhancing lesions with extensive surrounding oedema in supratentorial as well as infratentorial region. Lesions were mainly located in the periventricular region as well as at the grey-white matter junction and showed enhancement in the periphery as well as a tiny nodular enhancement in the centre. Patient was started on Septran DS, empirically for toxoplasmosis and steroids to reduce intracranial pressure. On follow up MRI scan after 10 days there was a reduction in size, number and enhancement of the masses with decrease in the surrounding oedema. Patient was clinically stable, oriented and his fever settled. He was discharged from hospital on same medication and advised to continue regular follow-up.
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PMID:Cerebral toxoplasmosis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. 2041 81

Possible pathophysiological, clinical and epidemiological interactions between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tropical pathogens, especially malaria parasites, constitute a concern in tropical areas. Two decades of research have shown that HIV-related immunosuppression is correlated with increased malaria infection, burden, and treatment failure, and with complicated malaria, irrespective of immune status. The recent role out of antiretroviral therapies and new antimalarials, such as artemisinin combination therapies, raise additional concerns regarding possible synergistic and antagonistic effects on efficacy and toxicity. Co-trimoxazole, which is used to prevent opportunistic infections, has been shown to have strong antimalarial prophylactic properties, despite its long-term use and increasing antifolate resistance. The administration of efavirenz, a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, with amodiaquine-artesunate has been associated with increased toxicity. Recent in vivo observations have confirmed that protease inhibitors have strong antimalarial properties. Ritonavir-boosted lopinavir and artemether-lumefantrine have a synergistic effect in terms of improved malaria treatment outcomes, with no apparent increase in the risk of toxicity. Overall, for the prevention and treatment of malaria in HIV-infected populations, the current standard of care is similar to that in non-HIV-infected populations. The available data show that the wider use of insecticide-treated bed-nets, co-trimoxazole prophylaxis and antiretroviral therapy might substantially reduce the morbidity of malaria in HIV-infected patients. These observations show that those accessing care for HIV infection are now, paradoxically, well protected from malaria. These findings therefore highlight the need for confirmatory diagnosis of malaria in HIV-infected individuals receiving these interventions, and the provision of different artemisinin-based combination therapies to treat malaria only when the diagnosis is confirmed.
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PMID:Interactions between malaria and human immunodeficiency virus anno 2014. 2452 18