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Biomedical subjects

A Laporte

Publications and source records attributed to A Laporte.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Impact of a harm-reduction policy on HIV and hepatitis C virus transmission among drug users: recent French data--the ANRS-Coquelicot Study.

In France a harm-reduction policy was implemented in the late 1980s with the aim of reducing the prevalence of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among drug users. The ANRS-Coquelicot survey was designed to measure the prevalence of HIV and HCV infection among drug users and to examine determinants of at-risk behaviors. In 2002, information was collected from 166 drug users recruited in all types of services specializing in drug use intervention and harm reduction in Marseille, France. Self-reported HIV and HCV serostatus was compared with the results of serological tests done on capillary blood collected on filter paper. The self-reported and biologically documented prevalence rates of HIV infection were identical (22%). In contrast, the self-reported prevalence of HCV infection was 52%, whereas the biologically documented prevalence was 73%. Overall, 30% of HCV-infected drug users were unaware of their status. Forty-four percent of drug users under 30 years of age were HCV seropositive, suggesting that they had been infected early during drug use. The harm-reduction policy seems to have had a marked impact on HIV transmission among drug users but a much more limited impact on HCV transmission. The limitations and implications of the study are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The economic burden of disabling hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) from the perspective of individuals living with this condition.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the direct and indirect arthritis-attributable costs to individuals with disabling hip and/or knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: An established population cohort with disabling hip and/or knee OA from two regions of Ontario, Canada was surveyed to determine participant and caregiver costs related to OA, and the predictors of these costs. RESULTS: The response rate was 87.2%. Of 1378 respondents, 1258 had OA (mean age 73.1 yr, range 59-100). Sixty per cent (n = 758) reported OA-related costs. Among these individuals, the average annual cost was 12,200 dollars(CDN dollars in 2002, where 1.00 CDN dollar approximately 0.81 US dollar). Time lost from employment and leisure by participants and their unpaid caregivers accounted for 80% of the total. Men were less likely than women to report costs (adjusted odds ratio 0.54, P < 0.0001), but when they did their expenditures were significantly higher (P = 0.004). Greater disability was associated with higher costs: compared with individuals with WOMAC total scores <15, those with scores > or = 55 were 15 times more likely to report costs, and their costs were 3 times greater (both P < 0.0001). Both the young (<65 yr) and very old were more likely to incur costs (P < 0.0001), and when they did their costs were higher (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Costs incurred were mainly for time lost from employment and leisure, and for unpaid informal caregivers. Failure to value such indirect costs significantly underestimates the true burden of OA. Costs increased with worsening health status and greater OA severity. After adjustment, men were less likely to incur costs, possibly due to greater social resources.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2002

A new decline in preventive behaviours among homosexual men : the role of highly active antiretroviral therapy?

The articles published in this issue of Eurosurveillance on recent trends of preventive behaviours in homosexual men in Spain, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, all conclude that the practice of safer sex is declining. They emphasise increases in anal penetration (regardless of the nature of the relationship), non-protected anal intercourse, and ejaculation in the mouth, in particular among casual partners. The increase of diagnoses of acute sexually transmitted diseases (such as gonorrhoea and syphilis) in different European countries - illustrated in this issue by the data from the Netherlands - is the first tangible consequence of this decline.

Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active↗
PubMed2000

Record-linkage between two anonymous databases for a capture-recapture estimation of underreporting of AIDS cases: France 1990-1993. The Clinical Epidemiology Group from Centres d'Information et de Soins de l'Immunodéficience Humaine.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the completeness of the French mandatory AIDS surveillance system (Declaration Obligatoire DO) over the 1990-1993 period using a capture-recapture approach, by matching the mandatory reports with the AIDS cases present in the French Hospital Database on HIV infection (FHDH). METHODS: An anonymous record-linkage algorithm was developed to identify those cases common to both anonymous surveillance systems. The linkage was based on sex, date of birth, and infection risk group, all strictly matched, and on the dates of AIDS diagnosis and of death, the places of diagnosis and residence, and the AIDS-defining diseases at diagnosis. The total number of AIDS cases and completeness of both surveillance systems were estimated using a capture-recapture approach, assuming independence of the ascertainment sources. RESULTS: The completeness of the mandatory reporting was estimated at 83.6% (95% CI: 82.9-84.3), and that of the FHDH at 47.6% (95% CI: 46.9-48.3) for the surveillance of AIDS cases diagnosed among adults in France between 1990 and 1993. The completeness of the system based on FHDH increased over the study period as more hospitals joined the project, while the completeness of the DO surveillance system remained stable. CONCLUSION: This approach was useful in estimating the underreporting of AIDS cases in France. Regularly performed, it will allow the impact of underreporting to be monitored over time.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1997

Differential responsiveness of murine T lymphomas to local growth and invasion factors may determine metastasis formation in the ovaries.

The murine T cell hybridomas BW-14 and BW-19, both derived from a fusion between the nonmetastatic BW 5147 lymphoma and a cytotoxic T cell line, differ in their capacity to metastasize to the ovaries. While ovary colonization by BW-19 cells is marginal and limited to the ovary follicles, BW-14 cells extensively colonize the complete ovary. The present study shows that the two T cell hybridomas respond differentially to ovary-derived migration and growth-modulating factors, in a way that correlates with their differential capacity to metastasize to the ovaries. More specifically, we observed that conditioned medium from cultured ovary fragments or from the ovary-derived granulosa cell line GRMO1V inhibited the migration of BW-19 cells in vitro, but stimulated the migration of BW-14 cells. Likewise, the local hormone prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and the steroid hormone progesterone, both known to be secreted by GRMO1V cells, stimulated the migration of BW-14 cells, indicating that the stimulatory effect of the conditioned medium can be at least partially ascribed to the action of these two hormones. In contrast, the migration of BW-19 cells was inhibited by PGE2. In addition to the modulatory effect on hybridoma cell migration, conditioned medium from the granulosa cell line GRMO1V inhibited the proliferation of BW-19 cells in vitro, an effect that is likely to be mediated at least partially by PGE2. The proliferation of BW-14 cells, on the other hand was, depending on the dilution used, stimulated or inhibited by GRMO1V-conditioned medium. Our findings indicate that the differential capacity of the T cell hybridomas BW-14 and BW-19 to metastasize to the ovaries is mediated by the differential action of granulosa-cell-derived factors, in particular the sex hormone progesterone and the local hormone PGE2, on both the migration and proliferation of the T cell hybridomas.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Platelet functions and haemostasis parameters in pigs: absence of side effects of a procedure of general anaesthesia.

Pigs are largely used as experimental animal models of thrombosis and for testing the anti thrombotic drug efficacy. Generally experiments are performed on pigs under general anaesthesia and observations can be affected by the anaesthetic drugs used. The effects of a general anaesthetic procedure were checked on pig haemostasis parameters; the pig was pre-anaesthetized with ketamine chloride, then intubated and ventilated with a mixture containing halothane, nitrous oxide and oxygen. Bleeding time, platelet aggregations, coagulation factors, coagulation inhibitors, fibrinolysis parameters and markers of activation of coagulation were determined on 30 Large White pigs before and under this anaesthesia procedure. Compared to human coagulation, pig is characterized by very high levels of factor V, VIII, IX, XI, XII activities, same levels of factor II, fibrinogen, antithrombin III (ATIII), low levels of protein C activities. Thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT) and tissue plasminogen activator antigen (tPA) values were dispersed. With the reagents used, protein S, prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 (F1 + 2), D Dimers (D-D), plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAi) levels could not be determined. No difference was observed between results obtained before and under anaesthesia, particularly to increase of bleeding time, no modification of platelet aggregations and no activation of coagulation. This anaesthetic procedure does not induce any modification of pig haemostasis and can be used, without side effects, for experimental thrombosis studies in pigs.

Anesthesia, General↗
PubMed1996

Epidemiology of cryptococcosis in France: a 9-year survey (1985-1993). French Cryptococcosis Study Group.

We analyzed the data collected during a nationwide survey of cryptococcosis (1985-1993). We first checked the quality of the survey. The stability of its completeness (approximately 50%) and its representativity were assessed by the capture-recapture method after we cross-checked our data on cryptococcosis (as a presenting manifestation of AIDS) against those of the national registry of AIDS. Of the 1,057 cases of cryptococcosis (1,013 patients), 827 (86%) involved patients with AIDS. The increasing number of cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related cryptococcosis over time paralleled the AIDS epidemic except for a higher male-to-female ratio. Malignancies (32%), organ transplantation (19%), and corticosteroid therapy (33%) were the main predisposing conditions in 163 patients without AIDS. Cryptococcal meningitis more frequently occurred in patients with AIDS than in HIV-negative patients (P < 10(-6)). Among the 413 isolates available for serotyping, 410 were Cryptococcus neoformans variety neoformans (including 20.5% of serotype D). Three isolates of the variety gattii (serotype B) were recovered from patients without AIDS.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1996

Factors associated with tuberculosis at AIDS diagnosis in France.

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with tuberculosis (TB) at AIDS diagnosis in France. DESIGN: Analysis of surveillance data. METHODS: Among all adult AIDS cases diagnosed since January 1988 and reported by December 1993 in France, the proportion diagnosed with AIDS-defining TB (extrapulmonary TB among cases diagnosed between 1988 and 1992, all forms of TB among cases diagnosed in 1993) was analysed by year of diagnosis, sex, age, nationality, profession, HIV transmission group and region of residence by multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: Between 1988 and 1992, 5.7% (1134 out of 19,968) of AIDS patients were diagnosed with AIDS-defining extrapulmonary TB. Presence of extrapulmonary TB was associated with male sex [adjusted odds ratio (AOR), 1.7], nationality from a sub-Saharan country (AOR, 4.8), heterosexual contact or injecting drug use (AOR, 2.4 and 2.7, respectively), residence in the Paris area (AOR, 1.7), and unemployment or factory work (AOR, 2.5 and 2.4, respectively). In 1993, 10.6% (393 out of 3721) of AIDS patients were diagnosed with TB (all forms). In multivariate analysis, three factors were independently associated with the risk of presenting TB at AIDS diagnosis: transmission category, nationality, and region of residence. CONCLUSIONS: Some factors associated with TB at AIDS diagnosis in France are known to be related to a high incidence of TB in industrialized countries (nationality, from a developing country, male sex, low socioeconomic status). The independent association with injecting drug use or residence in Paris suggests a contribution of recent TB infection in specific groups of HIV-infected persons. This contribution should be evaluated to implement appropriate preventive measures.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1989

Incubation time for AIDS from French transfusion-associated cases.

Although incubation time is a key parameter of the epidemiology of AIDS, statistical estimates based on transfusion-associated AIDS cases have, up to now, used only the single dataset provided by the AIDS program of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. Using a new dataset provided by the Direction Générale de la Santé (DGS), of the French Ministry of Health1, we estimate the mean incubation time for AIDS (median in brackets) to be 5.3 years (5.3 years) with a 90% confidence interval ranging from 4.4 to 8.9 years (4.4 to 8.8 years), when a Weibull distribution is postulated for incubation time. The previously encountered problem of very large confidence intervals (range larger than 100 years), is not observed, indicating that an accurate estimate for mean incubation time will be obtainable in the near future.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1985

[Results of percutaneous selective thermocoagulation of Gasser's ganglion in essential facial neuralgia. Synthesis of results obtained in 939 treated patients].

The authors report the late results of thermocoagulation of the gasserian ganglion in 939 patients operated by 3 different neurosurgical teams, (Bologna, Bordeaux, Marseille). It has been assessed that the results are comparable among the 3 teams and that percutaneous selective thermocoagulation represents a simple and low-risk technique with a high rate of efficacity.

Electrocoagulation↗
PubMed1982

[Neurosyphilitic arteritis. Clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic data. A review of six cases (author's transl)].

Among forty-six patients with neurosyphilis, seen over a ten-year period, six had features highly suggestive of syphilitic cerebral vascularitis. The carotid distribution was involved in five patients and the posterior cerebral artery in one. As exemplified by these six observations, syphilitic arteritis should be considered when an ischemic stroke occurs with no apparent etiology. The fluorescent treponemal antibody adsorbed test (FTA-ABS) in the cerebrospinal fluid is the most reliable and the most specific laboratory test for the diagnosis of neurosyphilis.

Adult↗