Summary
Male sex workers (MSW) who sell/exchange sex for money or goods comprise an extremely diverse population across and within countries worldwide. Information characterizing their practices, contexts where they live, and their needs is very limited, as these men are generally included as subsets of larger studies focused on gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) or even female sex workers. MSW, regardless of their sexual orientation, mostly offer sex to men, and rarely identify as sex workers, using local or international terms instead. There is growing evidence of a sustained or increasing burden of HIV among some MSW in the context of the slowing global HIV pandemic. There are several synergistic facilitator spotentiating HIV acquisition and transmission among MSW, including biological, behavioural, and structural determinants. The criminalization and intersectional stigmas of same-sex practices, commercial sex, and HIV all increase HIV and STI risk for MSW and decrease their likelihood of accessing essential services. These contexts, taken together with complex sexual networks among MSW, define them as a key population underserved by current HIV prevention, treatment, and care services. Dedicated efforts are needed to make those services available for the sake of both public health and human rights.
Objective-Paradoxical tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) is a frequent complication of antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited countries. We aimed to assess whether a 4 week course of prednisone would reduce morbidity in patients with paradoxical TB-IRIS without excess adverse events.Design-A randomised double blind placebo-controlled trial of prednisone (1.5mg/kg/day for 2 weeks then 0.75mg/kg/day for 2 weeks). Patients with immediately life-threatening TB-IRIS manifestations were excluded.Methods-The primary combined endpoint was days of hospitalization and outpatient therapeutic procedures, which were counted as one hospital day.Results-110 participants were enrolled (55 to each arm). The primary combined endpoint was more frequent in the placebo than the prednisone arm (median hospital days 3 (IQR 0-9) and 0 (IQR 0-3) respectively; p=0.04). There were significantly greater improvements in symptoms, Karnofsky score, and quality of life (MOS-HIV) in the prednisone versus the placebo arm at 2 and Corresponding author and requests for reprints: Dr Graeme Meintjes, Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, 7925, South Africa, graemein@mweb.co.za, Telephone: +27-21-4066079, Fax: +27-21-4066796. Authors' contributions. GMeintjes, GMaartens and RJW designed and co-ordinated the study. GMeintjes, DJP, KR, MXR and TO were involved in patient recruitment and follow-up and collected clinical outcomes data. Data management and analysis were performed by CM and GMeintjes. GMeintjes wrote the manuscript which all authors critically reviewed.
NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript 4 weeks, but not at later timepoints. Chest radiographs improved significantly more in the prednisone arm at weeks 2 (p=0.002) and 4 (p=0.02). Infections on study medication occurred in more participants in prednisone than placebo arm (27 vs 17 respectively; p=0.05), but there was no difference in severe infections (2 vs 4 respectively; p=0.40). Isolates from 10 participants were found to be resistant to rifampicin after enrollment.Conclusions-Prednisone reduced the need for hospitalisation and therapeutic procedures, and hastened improvements in symptoms, performance and quality of life. It is important to investigate for drug-resistant tuberculosis and other causes for deterioration before administering glucocorticoids.
In a prospective observational study of 54 patients with human immunodeficiency virus-associated cryptococcal meningitis, the early fungicidal activity of amphotericin B (1 mg/kg/day) was significantly greater than that of fluconazole (400 mg/day). Compared with antiretroviral therapy-naive patients, patients developing cryptococcal meningitis while already receiving antiretroviral therapy had lower baseline fungal burdens and a longer median duration of survival, but there were no differences observed in fungal clearance, cerebrospinal fluid proinflammatory cytokines, or 10-week mortality.
The results support the use of the rate of clearance of infection or early fungicidal activity as a means to explore antifungal drug dosages and combinations in phase II studies. An increased understanding of how the factors determining outcome interrelate may help clarify opportunities for intervention.
Despite the increased emphasis on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and other health care services for HIV-infected individuals in sub-Saharan Africa, issues of fertility and childbearing have received relatively little attention. In particular, little is known about the prevalence and determinants of fertility intentions among HIV-infected women and men who are receiving ART. We conducted a cross-sectional study from August to November 2005 investigating these issues among patients attending a public sector ART service who had been receiving ART for at least one month. Overall, 311 individuals were interviewed (median age, 33 years) and 29% (n = 89) stated that they wanted to have children in the future. This proportion was slightly higher among males than females (36% versus 26%, p = 0.09). In a multivariate model predicting fertility desire among all participants, fertility desire was associated with male gender (odds ratio (OR):2.58; 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.29-5.08), younger age (OR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.87-0.97), decreased number of children (OR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.15-0.69), and being in a relationship of less than 5 years (OR: 3.93; 95% CI: 1.91-8.08). In addition, fertility desire was associated with increasing duration of ART among female participants, but not among males. These results suggest that a substantial proportion of HIV-infected women and men receiving ART in this setting would like to have children in the future. This highlights the importance of incorporating fertility-related counseling, as well as contraception and advice regarding safe conception and childbirth, as appropriate, into HIV treatment services. These findings also suggest that fertility desires may change through time and thus require ongoing attention as part of long-term care.
Rationale: Tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) induced by combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has been attributed to dysregulated expansion of tuberculin PPD-specific IFN-g-secreting CD4 1 T cells. Objectives: To investigate the role of type 1 helper T cell expansions and regulatory T cells in HIV-TB IRIS. Methods: Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific IFN-g enzyme-linked immunospot responses and flow cytometric analysis of blood cells from a total of 129 adults with HIV-1-associated tuberculosis, 98 of whom were prescribed cART.
Measurements and Main Results:In cross-sectional analysis the frequency of IFN-g-secreting T cells recognizing early secretory antigenic target (ESAT)-6, a-crystallins 1 and 2, and PPD of M. tuberculosis was higher in patients with TB-IRIS than in similar patients treated for both HIV-1 and tuberculosis who did not develop IRIS (non-IRIS; P < 0.03). The biggest difference was in the recognition of a-crystallin molecules: peptide mapping indicated a polyclonal response. Flow cytometric analysis indicated equal proportions of CD4 1 and CD8 1 cells positive for activation markers HLA-DR and CD71 in both patients with TB-IRIS and non-IRIS patients. The percentage of CD4 1 cells positive for FoxP3 (Forkhead box P3) was low in both groups (TB-IRIS, 5.3 6 4.5; non-IRIS, 2.46 6 2.46; P 5 0.13). Eight weeks of longitudinal analysis of patients with tuberculosis who were starting cART showed dynamic changes in antigen-specific IFN-g-secreting T cells in both the TB-IRIS and non-IRIS groups: the only significant trend was an increased response to PPD in the TB-IRIS group (P 5 0.041). Conclusions: There is an association between helper T-cell type 1 expansions and TB-IRIS, but the occurrence of similar expansions in non-IRIS brings into question whether these are causal. The defect in immune regulation responsible for TB-IRIS remains to be fully elucidated.
Studies are needed to define factors, in addition to fungal burden, associated with raised opening pressure. Aggressive management of raised opening pressure through repeated CSF drainage appeared to prevent any adverse impact of raised opening pressure on outcome in patients with cryptococcal meningitis. The results support increasing access to manometers in resource-poor settings and routine management of opening pressure in patients with cryptococcal meningitis.
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