PubMed · 16129864
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David Secko. 2005-08-30. Inexpensive CD4 counting for the developing world.. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.050945
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UNLABELLED: The year 2007 marks the fifteenth anniversary year of the founding of a landmark effort in drug safety risk management, the formation of the first monitoring effort of an antiretroviral (ARV) drug in pregnancy which has become the Antiretrovirals in Pregnancy Registry, the APR. This multicompany, multi-national voluntary collaborative registry monitors pregnancy exposure to a class of highly important drugs for any indication of an increase in the postexposure incidence of birth defects in the offspring of these pregnancies. To recognize the anniversary, the Steering Committee of the APR has commissioned this review of the contributions and lessons learned over the past decade and a half and, in the spirit of continuous process improvement, has committed to apply these lessons for the next fifteen years. This retrospective examines the antecedents to this registry and the context in which the APR was formed; the early efforts to establish technical and organizational procedures and policies; the evolving experiences with enrollment and follow-up, patient and participant protections, information management and oversight; public and regulatory dissemination; and of course, the accomplishments and lessons learned. TARGET AUDIENCE: Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Family Physicians. LEARNING OBJECTIVES: After completion of this article, the reader should be able to explain the value of a drug registry in determining safety risk management; summarize that the Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs in Pregnancy Registry (APR) is a very successful multinational, multicompany collaborative effort that has been in place for 15 years; and state that it has been an ideal public interest effort dealing with the devastating pandemic of human immunodeficiency viral disease.
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To describe the impact of highly active antiretroviral therapy on the burden of pneumococcal disease and advances in our understanding of the impact of HIV on this disease. RECENT FINDINGS: Although highly active antiretroviral therapy has reduced the burden of pneumococcal disease among HIV-infected adults, these infections remain far more common than in HIV uninfected adults. HIV-infected adults who smoke or have comorbidities are at particular risk. In the absence of highly active antiretroviral therapy, pneumococcal meningitis has emerged in Africa as a major disease burden with a high mortality among HIV-infected children and adults. Conjugate pneumococcal vaccine protects HIV-infected infants from pneumococcal pneumonia. In the United States, where conjugate vaccine is given to children, herd immunity has reduced the burden of invasive pneumococcal disease among HIV-infected adults. SUMMARY: The pneumococcus remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among HIV-infected children and adults, both in developed and in developing countries.
BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) genetic variability and its implication on the development of new reagents were investigated by correlating time of infection and resistance to antiretroviral drugs. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Seventy-four plasma samples from Brazilian drug-naïve blood donors were assayed to further develop a panel of biologic reagents to be used in serology and molecular tests. After viral RNA extraction, cDNA was generated and used in nested polymerase chain reaction protocols with primers for the ENV (C2-V3 and gp41), protease (PR), and reverse transcriptase (RT) of HIV-1. Genomic sequencing was conducted to define HIV-1 subtypes and drug resistance mutations. RESULTS: Subtype B was found in 83.8 percent of all samples, subtype F in 2.7 percent, and BF mosaics in 11 percent of the cases. B and F different genetic profiles were evidenced: B(PR)B(RT)B(gp120)B(gp41), F(PR)F(RT)F(gp120)F(gp41), F(PR)F(RT)B(gp120)B(gp41), F(PR)B(RT)B(gp120)B(gp41), and B(PR)B(RT)F(gp120)B(gp41). A single sample (1.4%) was characterized as a BC mosaic (B(PR)C(RT)U(gp120)C(gp41)) and an AGH mosaic (AG(PR)G(RT)H(gp120)H(gp41)) was first observed in the country. Antiretroviral resistance to nucleoside RT inhibitor was observed in one sample (1.35%) showing M41L and T215S mutations. Nonnucleoside RT inhibitor and major PR inhibitor resistance mutations were not observed. Previously unseen patterns of resistance to T20 were found among HIV-1-infected drug-naïve individuals in Brazil. Recent infections were characterized in 21.6 percent of the blood donor samples included in this study. CONCLUSIONS: The availability of characterized plasma samples and HIV isolates will allow the development of biologic reagents necessary to implement quality control programs and to develop, validate, and evaluate the performance of diagnostic kits, considering all HIV-1-circulating variants in the country.