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“Previous studies in HIV-infected populations have yielded conflicting results on the effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on cognition. Our objective was to investigate the effect of several years of ART with stable

GSK126 price central nervous system penetration effectiveness (CPE) score on neuropsychological performance in HIV-infected individuals. We analysed a clinical cohort of HIV-infected patients who initiated ART between June 2003 and December 2006 and maintained stable CPE scores. Patients were evaluated with a short neuropsychological battery. Using linear regression, we examined the relationship between results of cognitive tests and CPE scores in all patients. Patients were divided into three similarly sized groups (CPE ≤ 1, CPE between 1.5 and 2.5, and CPE ≥ 2.5). We found that ART with high CPE scores was associated with poorer executive performances in HIV-1-infected patients. These results suggest that cognitive performance in treated HIV-infected patients could be influenced by ART. “
“To investigate the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA and hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in HIV-infected patients initiating antiretroviral therapy in Cameroon. Baseline

blood samples from 169 patients were tested retrospectively for hepatitis B surface antigens (HBsAg), anti-hepatitis B core (anti-HBc), anti-HCV and – if HBsAg or anti-HCV result was positive or indeterminate – for HBV DNA or HCV RNA, ALK inhibitor respectively, using the Cobas Ampliprep/Cobas TaqMan quantitative assay (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany). HBV DNA was detected in 14 of the 18 patients with positive or indeterminate HBsAg results [8.3% of the total study population, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.6–13.5]. The median

HBV viral load was 2.47 × 107 IU/mL [interquartile range (IQR) 3680–1.59 × 108; range 270 to >2.2 × 108]. Twenty-one patients (12.4%, 95% CI 7.9–18.4) were found with HCV RNA (all with positive HCV serology). The median HCV viral load was 928 000 IU/mL (IQR 178 400–2.06 × 106; range 640–5.5 × 106). No patient was co-infected with HBV and HCV. In multivariate analysis, HCV co-infection was associated with greater age [≥45 years vs. <45 years, odds ratio (OR) 11.89, 95% CI 3.49–40.55, P<0.001] and Endonuclease abnormal serum alanine aminotransferase level [≥1.25 × upper limit of normal (ULN) vs. <1.25 × ULN, OR 7.81, 95% CI 1.54–39.66, P=0.01]; HBV co-infection was associated with abnormal serum aspartate aminotransferase level (OR 4.33, 95% CI 1.32–14.17, P=0.02). These high rates of active HBV and HCV co-infections in HIV-positive Cameroonian patients requiring antiretroviral therapy underline the need to promote: (i) screening for HBV and HCV before treatment initiation; (ii) accessibility to tenofovir (especially in HBV-endemic African countries); and (iii) accessibility to treatment for HBV and HCV infections.