Abstract. Strongyloidiasis is a parasitosis characterized by persistent infection before dissemination and the development of potentially fatal disease. Since diagnosis is difficult, knowledge of the prevalence and geographic distribution of the disease is of practical importance. A study was made of Strongyloides stercoralis infection in a random and representative sample of farm workers in a tourist region in Spain based on the detection of larvae of triple stool samples. The prevalence of infection was 12.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] ס 8.4−16.4). None of the 26 clinical or epidemiologic variables analyzed were found to be predictive of infection. Only eosinophilia (> 400 eosinophils/mm 3 ) was significantly greater among the infected individuals (odds ratio ס 73.4, 95% CI ס 16.3−327.0), with a sensitivity of 93.5% and a specificity of 93.1%. A screening program is proposed to detect eosinophilia, to provide treatment without stool examinations, and thus afford a cost-effective policy for preventing the development of severe forms of the disease among specific risk groups where the prevalence of other parasitoses is low.
Background: Sexualized drug use (SDU), also known as chemsex, refers to the use of psychoactive substances for sexual purposes among men who have sex with men (MSM), which has been associated with mental health symptoms. The objective of this review is to systematically review the available evidence on mental health outcomes in MSM who use sexualized drugs. Methods: To prepare this systematic review, search strategies were developed and applied to the Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, and Scopus databases. A total of 117 articles were found, of which 12 were selected for the final review. Results: Those MSM who practiced SDU were more likely to experience from depression, anxiety, or a substance dependence, although these results were not found in all the studies analyzed. Among those who practiced the administration of intravenous drugs (referred to as slamsex), the mental health symptoms were more severe. Conclusions: This systematic review contributes to a fuller understanding of the mental health symptoms present in MSM who consume drugs for sexual purposes. Greater uniformity in data collection instruments is required, as well as the need to conduct a more in-depth assessment of the psychosocial adjustment of people who practice chemsex.
Multiplex quantitative real-time PCR (MRT-PCR) using blood can improve the diagnosis of intra-abdominal candidiasis (IAC). We prospectively studied 39 patients with suspected IAC in the absence of previous antifungal therapy. Blood cultures, MRT-PCR, and β-D-glucan (BDG) in serum were performed in all patients. IAC was defined according to the 2013 European Consensus criteria. For MRT-PCR, the probes targeted the ITS1 or ITS2 regions of ribosomal DNA. Candidaemia was confirmed only in four patients (10%), and IAC criteria were present in 17 patients (43.6%). The sensitivity of MRT-PCR was 25% but increased to 63.6% (P = .06) in plasma obtained prior to volume overload and transfusion; specificity was above 85% in all cases. BDG performance was improved using a cutoff > 260 pg/ml, and improvement was not observed in samples obtained before transfusion. In this cohort of high risk of IAC and low rate of bloodstream infection, the performance of non-culture-based methods (MRT-PCR or BDG) was moderate but may be a complementary tool given the limitations of diagnostic methods available in clinical practice. Volume overload requirements, in combination with other factors, decrease the accuracy of MRT-PCR in patients with IAC.
In our work, we analyzed the role of the CD100/CD72 and PD-1/PD-L1 axes in immune response dysfunction in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection in which high expressions of PD-1 and PD-L1 were associated with an immunosuppressive state via limitation of the HIV-1-specific T-cell responses. CD100 was demonstrated to play a relevant role in immune responses in various pathological processes and may be responsible for immune dysregulation during HIV-1 infection. We investigated the function of CD72/CD100, and PD-1/PDL-1 axes on T and B cells in HIV-infected individuals and in healthy individuals. We analyzed the frequencies and fluorescence intensities of these four markers on CD4+, CD8+ T and B cells. Marker expressions were increased during active HIV-1 infection. CD100 frequency on T cells was positively associated with the expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 on T cells from HIV-infected treatment-naïve individuals. In addition, the frequency of CD72-expressing T cells was associated with interferon gamma (IFN-γ) production in HIV-infected treatment-naïve individuals. Our data suggest that the CD72/CD100 and PD-1/PD-L1 axes may jointly participate in dysregulation of immunity during HIV-1 infection and could partially explain the immune systems’ hyper-activation and exhaustion.
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