The combination of oral doxycycline for 45 days plus intramuscular gentamicin for 7 days is equally as effective as traditional therapy using doxycycline for 45 days plus streptomycin for 14 days.

Introduction: Considering the increase of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women and their mental health concerns, the present study aimed at investigating the effect of cognitive behavioural therapy on stress, anxiety, and depression in women with HIV. Material and methods:This randomised clinical trial was conducted on 60 women with HIV who referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital Consultation Centre for clients with risky behaviours in Tehran. The sampling method was census and samples were randomly assigned to two groups: control and intervention. In addition to routine care, the intervention group received six sessions of cognitive-behavioural counselling on mental health. The sampling period lasted from April to August 2017. The questionnaire used in this study was Depression Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21).Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the demographic characteristics in the control and intervention groups. The result of the repeated measurement test showed that the depression, anxiety, and stress in the intervention group changed over time, respectively (p = 0.002), (p = 0.000), (p = 0.04), and there was a significant difference between the two groups, respectively (p = 0.003), (p = 0.000), (p = 0.000). Conclusions:According to the results of this study and considering the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in people with HIV, cognitive behavioural therapy useful for counselling in women with HIV, and we suggest that cognitive behavioural therapy is provided in high risk behaviour counselling centre.

Information on the prevalence and risk factors for HIV infection among sailors is scarce. The aim of this seroprevalence study was to evaluate the frequency of HIV infection among sailors in south of Iran using rapid HIV test. The study included 400 consecutive participants in Lengeh, Shahid Rajaie, and Shahid Bahonar ports in south of Iran in May 2010. We observed only one case (0.25%) of HIV infection in this sample of sailors. While prevalence appears low at present, we recommend periodic HIV serosurveillance with detailed behavioral measures for this population in the future.

The introduction of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques has improved the detection of respiratory viruses, particularly with the use of multiplex real-time technique with the capability of simultaneous detection of various pathogens in a single reaction. The aim of this study was to apply the above technology for the diagnosis of influenza infections and at the same time to differentiate between common flu species between hospitalized patients in Laleh hospital (Iran) between two flu seasons (2016- 2017 and 2017-2018). Different respiratory specimens were collected from 540 patients from a period of December 2016 to May 2018 and were sent to the laboratory for molecular diagnosis. RNAs were extracted and subsequently, a multiplex real time PCR identifying flu A, flu B and typing flu A (H1N1) was carried out. The mean age of patients was 47.54±23.96. 216 (40%) and 321 (60%) of subjects were male and female, respectively. 219 out of 540 (40.5%) were positive for influenza infection including flu A (n=97, 44.3%), flu A (H1N1) (n=45, 20.7%) and flu B (n=77, 35%). Flu A was the dominant species on 2016-2017 and flu B was the major species on 2017-2018. Flu A (H1N1) was comparable in both time periods. Flu infections were most frequently diagnosed in age groups 21-40. Flu-positive patients suffered more from body pain and sore throat than flunegative patients with significant statistical difference (P values <0.001). The mean duration of hospitalization was shorter for flu-positive patients (P value = 0.016). Application of multiplex real time PCR could facilitate the influenza diagnosis in a short period of time, benefiting patients from exclusion of bacterial infections and avoiding unnecessary antibiotic therapy. Influenza diagnosis was not achieved in up to 60% of flu-like respiratory infections, suggesting the potential benefit of adopting the same methodology for assessing the involvement of other viral or/and bacterial pathogens in those patients.

Background: Systemic immune activation and inflammation in chronic HIV infection are driving factors of non–AIDS-related events, including neurocognitive impairment. The role of inflammasome in monocytes from patients with HIV infection has been extensively studied, but its association with the extent of neurocognitive dysfunction has been poorly investigated. Methods: We enrolled 79 HIV-positive patients; 44 with varying levels of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) and 35 without and 8 healthy donors. HAND subtypes included asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment; n = 19), mild neurocognitive disorder (MND; n = 17), and HIV-associated dementia (n = 8). We quantified plasmatic concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-17A, IL-1β, and IFN-γ) for all HIV patients, and the mRNA expression of genes involved in the inflammasome activity (NLRP3, PYCARD, NAIP, AIM2, IL-1β, and IL-18) in monocytes of a subgroup of 28 HIV patients and 8 healthy donors. Results: HIV patients' plasma concentrations of IFN-γ, IL-1β, and IL-17A were undetectable. Levels of TNF-α and IL-6 were similar among the HIV patient groups. A trend toward an increased expression of inflammasome genes according to neurocognitive disorder severity was observed. Of note, the NLRP3 mRNA relative expression was higher in MND compared with other groups, and IL-1β was lower in MND than HIV-associated dementia patients. Conclusions: Changes in inflammasome components in circulating monocytes according to different HAND severity suggest that NLRP3 may be a possible biomarker or target to better understand and treat the link between systemic inflammation and neurocognitive impairment in HIV infection.

Introduction: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is generally related to reproductive health and is most commonly transmitted through injection addiction, sexual relationship, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. Therefore, the promotion of reproductive health of women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is very important. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of counselling on cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) on reproductive health in women with HIV. Material and methods:This randomised controlled trial was conducted in 2017. Sixty HIV-infected women who referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital Consultation Centre for clients with risky behaviour in Tehran participated in this study. The sampling method was census, and samples were randomly assigned to two groups: control and intervention. In addition to routine care, the intervention group received seven cognitive-behavioural counselling sessions on reproductive health. The questionnaire used in this study was a reproductive health assessment scale for HIV-positive women.Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the demographic characteristics in the control and intervention groups. The result of repeated measures test showed that the length of time affects the total score of reproductive health (p < 0.000) and there was a significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.000). Conclusions:It is suggested that CBT counselling approaches be included in educational programs for the health of women with HIV. Given the widespread dimensions of reproductive health, counselling with a cognitive therapy approach in each dimension with the number of further sessions is suggested.

<b><i>Objectives:</i></b> The aim of present work was to assess cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia in Iranian human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1-infected patients with a CD4+ count &#x3c;100 cells/mm³ and to explore whether CMV DNA loads correlate with CD4+ cell counts or associated retinitis. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This study was conducted at the AIDS research center in Iran on HIV-1-infected patients with CD4+ count &#x3c;100 cells/mm³, antiretroviral therapy-naive, aged ≥18 years with no previous history of CMV end-organ disease (CMV-EOD). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Thirty-nine of 82 patients (47.56%) had detectable CMV viral load ranging from 66 to 485,500 IU/mL. CMV viral load in patients with retinitis ranges from 352 to 2,720 IU/mL, and it was undetectable in 2 patients. No significant associations between CMV viremia and CD4+ cell count was found (<i>p</i> value = 0.31), whereas significant association of CMV viremia in HIV-infected patients with retinitis was found (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.02). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> We estimated the frequency of CMV viral load infection in Iranian HIV-1-infected patients with a CD4+ cell count &#x3c;100 mm³/mL in the largest national referral center for HIV-1 infection in Iran. Further research is required on the relevance of CMV viral load in diagnostic and prognostic value of CMV-EOD.

No abstract