Marina Nunez

..Moreover, the therapeutic goal has shifted from palliative care to long-term durable complete remission. The objective of the study was to assess the impact of liposomal doxorubicin in the treatment of HIV-associated KS in the HAART era...

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..We examined the influence of HBV on HCV RNA titers in 376 HCV/HIV-coinfected patients (30 were also HBsAg positive). Regression analyses identified negative HBsAg and male sex as factors associated with HCV RNA values >500,000 IU/mL...

..The management of liver toxicity is based mainly on its clinical impact, severity and pathogenic mechanism...

..Thus, HBV/HIV-coinfected patients might benefit from an earlier introduction of HAART...

..While the selection of lamivudine resistance mutations is frequent, adefovir has a high genetic barrier. HIV infection negatively impacts on HBV disease, requiring these coinfected patients strategies aimed to manage both viruses...

..It is unclear whether this applies to HIV/HCV-co-infected patients...

..However, the occurrence of liver complications (including hepatocellular carcinoma) and/or HCV relapses in coinfected patients when followed for long periods of time after HCV therapy is not well known...

..The use of RBV 1000-1200 mg/day plus pegIFN is relatively safe and provides SVR in nearly half of coinfected patients, twice as high in HCV-2/3 than HCV-1/4...

..Coinfection with distinct HCV genotypes is unlikely in former IDUs coinfected with HIV and does not explain the lower efficacy of HCV therapy in this population...

..As in HIV infection, virus replication could drive or be contained by T-cell immunity. We have examined the effect of HIV coinfection and of suppression of HCV replication with therapy on HCV-specific T-cell responses...

..The relatively low efficacy of current anti-HCV medications and their low tolerability clearly indicated the need for new drugs with more potent and direct antiviral activity against HCV...

..Therefore, extending therapy (for 12 months in HCV genotypes 2/3 and perhaps for 18 months in HCV genotypes 1/4) might be warranted in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients showing EVR...

..The bidirectional interferences between hepatitis C virus and HIV have clinical consequences and complicate the management of coinfected individuals...

..Information available on the prevalence and distribution of distinct HBV variants in HIV-positive patients is scarce...

..HCV genotype 4 is spreading among European intravenous drug users, who are frequently coinfected with HIV. Information about treatment response in this subset of patients is scarce and conflicting results have been reported...

..Changes in the prevalence of distinct hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes and subtypes over time have not been explored in detail...

..Relapse after achieving virologic response to anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment considerably reduces sustained virologic response rates. It is unclear what the main predictors of relapse in HCV/HIV-coinfected patients are...

..Chronic hepatitis C therapy in HIV patients is often penalized by more frequent premature treatment discontinuations. It is unclear what the relative contribution of more adverse events and/or early virological failures are...

..8% for HCV genotypes 1-4) and/or the use of either standard or pegylated IFN (37% versus 29%, respectively). Thus, extended periods of anti-HCV therapy might reduce HCV relapses in HIV-coinfected patients initially responding to therapy...

..Both the prevalence and breadth of CD4(+) and CD8(+) responses were lower in co-infected patients, independently of the HCV genotype...

..9% show persistently normal ALT levels. Nearly 25% of HIV-HCV-coinfected patients with persistently normal ALT show advanced liver fibrosis. Therefore, HCV-HIV-coinfected patients with normal ALT levels should be closely monitored...

..Although response to IFN-alpha is poorer in HBV/HIV-coinfected patients compared with HBV-monoinfected individuals, the more potent pegylated forms of IFN-alpha have brought new hopes...

..Apoptosis in naive CD4(+) T cells and in naive and memory CD8(+) T cells was significantly higher in HIV-HCV-coinfected than in monoinfected patients...

..However, this tumor still represents the most common cancer in this population...

..Serodiscordant couples attaining natural pregnancy are exposed to a negligible risk of sexual transmission of HIV when the infected partner presents with complete suppression of plasma viremia while receiving HAART...

..In vitro, rtA194T conferred a reduced susceptibility to TDF in the presence of LAM-associated mutations...

..Several guidelines have recently been released in response to this demand. In this article, we discuss the most critical issues highlighted in these documents...

..CONCLUSION: More flexible criteria would considerably increase the number of patients to be treated with IFN-based therapy. The majority of patients ready to initiate HCV therapy have a poor therapeutic profile...

..Higher transaminase levels were recognized in patients with higher degree of fibrosis...

..58%; P = not significant). CONCLUSIONS: HCV genotype 3, older age, and elevated alanine aminotransferase levels are independent predictors of advanced liver fibrosis in HCV-HIV-coinfected patients...

..This effect generally progresses with time. An imbalance in adenosine metabolites within CD4+ T lymphocytes may explain this phenomenon, which resembles the genetic purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency syndrome...

..The efficacy of rit-boosted PI combinations is greatly influenced by the extent of baseline PI resistance. Differences, not only in potency, but mainly in tolerance may favour the selection of one dual PI combination over others...

..Genotyping at the time of initiation of salvage therapy with Kaletra might help to predict which individuals will experience a greater benefit...

..Patients with metabolic and/or body-shape abnormalities might particularly benefit from switching to this simple regimen...

..01) in 12 subjects harboring thymidine-associated mutations; these mutations persisted in all instances. Thus, selection of an L74V mutation during didanosine therapy may compromise HIV replication in vivo...