Aim
To assess the inter‐assessor reliability of the Motor Optimality Score‐Revised (MOS‐R) when used in infants at elevated likelihood for adverse neurological outcome.
Methods
MOS‐R were assessed in ...three groups of infants by two assessors/cohort. Infants were recruited from longitudinal projects in Sweden (infants born extremely preterm), India (infants born in low‐resource communities) and the USA (infants prenatally exposed to SARS‐CoV‐2). Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and kappa (κw) were applied. ICC of MOS‐R subcategories and total scores were presented for cohorts together and separately and for age‐spans: 9–12, 13–16 and 17–25‐weeks post‐term age.
Results
252 infants were included (born extremely preterm n = 97, born in low‐resource communities n = 97, prenatally SARS‐CoV‐2 exposed n = 58). Reliability of the total MOS‐R was almost perfect (ICC: 0.98–0.99) for all cohorts, together and separately. Similar result was found for age‐spans (ICC: 0.98–0.99). Substantial to perfect reliability was shown for the MOS‐R subcategories (κw: 0.67–1.00), with postural patterns showing the lowest value 0.67.
Conclusion
The MOS‐R can be used in high‐risk populations with substantial to perfect reliability, both in regards of total/subcategory scores as well as in different age groups. However, the subcategory postural patterns as well as the clinical applicability of the MOS‐R needs further study.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
People capable of pregnancy are disproportionately affected by HIV. Family planning needs and services are often unmet in this population, and clinical care guidelines regarding contraceptive options ...and abortion care are not well elucidated. Individuals living with HIV often face unique barriers in accessing contraception and abortion services due to internalized stigma, medically complex care (eg, drug–drug interactions, adverse effects of antiretroviral therapy), and distrust of health care providers. There is also a lack of clarity among reproductive health, primary, and infectious disease care providers on best‐practice contraceptive counseling and contraceptive care for individuals living with HIV, given limited opportunities to enhance expertise in reproductive infectious disease. In this review, we summarize existing and updated evidence and clinical considerations regarding contraceptive counseling and abortion care in this population.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Azithromycin (AZM) is a widely used antibiotic, with additional antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties that remain poorly understood. Although Zika virus (ZIKV) poses a significant threat to ...global health, there are currently no vaccines or effective therapeutics against it. Herein, we report that AZM effectively suppresses ZIKV infection
by targeting a late stage in the viral life cycle. Besides that, AZM upregulates the expression of host type I and III interferons and several of their downstream interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) in response to ZIKV infection. In particular, we found that AZM upregulates the expression of MDA5 and RIG-I, pathogen recognition receptors (PRRs) induced by ZIKV infection, and increases the levels of phosphorylated TBK1 and IRF3. Interestingly, AZM treatment upregulates phosphorylation of TBK1, without inducing phosphorylation of IRF3 by itself. These findings highlight the potential use of AZM as a broad antiviral agent to combat viral infection and prevent ZIKV associated devastating clinical outcomes, such as congenital microcephaly.
Summary Background Use of antiretroviral treatment for HIV-1 infection has decreased AIDS-related morbidity and mortality and prevents sexual transmission of HIV-1. However, the best time to initiate ...antiretroviral treatment to reduce progression of HIV-1 infection or non-AIDS clinical events is unknown. We reported previously that early antiretroviral treatment reduced HIV-1 transmission by 96%. We aimed to compare the effects of early and delayed initiation of antiretroviral treatment on clinical outcomes. Methods The HPTN 052 trial is a randomised controlled trial done at 13 sites in nine countries. We enrolled HIV-1-serodiscordant couples to the study and randomly allocated them to either early or delayed antiretroviral treatment by use of permuted block randomisation, stratified by site. Random assignment was unblinded. The HIV-1-infected member of every couple initiated antiretroviral treatment either on entry into the study (early treatment group) or after a decline in CD4 count or with onset of an AIDS-related illness (delayed treatment group). Primary events were AIDS clinical events (WHO stage 4 HIV-1 disease, tuberculosis, and severe bacterial infections) and the following serious medical conditions unrelated to AIDS: serious cardiovascular or vascular disease, serious liver disease, end-stage renal disease, new-onset diabetes mellitus, and non-AIDS malignant disease. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov , number NCT00074581. Findings 1763 people with HIV-1 infection and a serodiscordant partner were enrolled in the study; 886 were assigned early antiretroviral treatment and 877 to the delayed treatment group (two individuals were excluded from this group after randomisation). Median CD4 counts at randomisation were 442 (IQR 373–522) cells per μL in patients assigned to the early treatment group and 428 (357–522) cells per μL in those allocated delayed antiretroviral treatment. In the delayed group, antiretroviral treatment was initiated at a median CD4 count of 230 (IQR 197–249) cells per μL. Primary clinical events were reported in 57 individuals assigned to early treatment initiation versus 77 people allocated to delayed antiretroviral treatment (hazard ratio 0·73, 95% CI 0·52–1·03; p=0·074). New-onset AIDS events were recorded in 40 participants assigned to early antiretroviral treatment versus 61 allocated delayed initiation (0·64, 0·43–0·96; p=0·031), tuberculosis developed in 17 versus 34 patients, respectively (0·49, 0·28–0·89, p=0·018), and primary non-AIDS events were rare (12 in the early group vs nine with delayed treatment). In total, 498 primary and secondary outcomes occurred in the early treatment group (incidence 24·9 per 100 person-years, 95% CI 22·5–27·5) versus 585 in the delayed treatment group (29·2 per 100 person-years, 26·5–32·1; p=0·025). 26 people died, 11 who were allocated to early antiretroviral treatment and 15 who were assigned to the delayed treatment group. Interpretation Early initiation of antiretroviral treatment delayed the time to AIDS events and decreased the incidence of primary and secondary outcomes. The clinical benefits recorded, combined with the striking reduction in HIV-1 transmission risk previously reported, provides strong support for earlier initiation of antiretroviral treatment. Funding US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Zika Virus Infection in Pregnant Women in Rio de Janeiro Brasil, Patrícia; Pereira, José P; Moreira, M. Elisabeth ...
New England journal of medicine/The New England journal of medicine,
12/2016, Volume:
375, Issue:
24
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
This final report updates preliminary data on Zika virus infection among pregnant women in Rio de Janeiro. ZIKV infection during pregnancy was associated with fetal death, fetal growth restriction, ...and central nervous system abnormalities.
We have been conducting active surveillance for dengue infection in the general population of Rio de Janeiro since 2007. In 2012, we established a prospective cohort for dengue surveillance in mother–infant pairs within the Manguinhos Rio de Janeiro area. In 2015, we noted an increase in cases of a denguelike illness that was characterized by a descending rash, generally without fever; this increase coincided with a surge in the number of cases of illness characterized by a pruriginous rash in northeastern Brazil.
1
In early 2015, most cases were originally reported to surveillance systems as dengue; however, Zika virus (ZIKV) was . . .
In this report involving 1763 HIV-1 serodiscordant couples, the suppression of HIV-1 in the infected partner significantly decreased the transmission of genetically linked HIV-1 to the uninfected ...partner.
Advances in the treatment and care of patients with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection have led to dramatic reductions in the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease.
1
However, despite intensive public health initiatives aimed at HIV-1 prevention, more than 2 million new HIV-1 infections were reported in 2014 worldwide.
2
The global HIV-1 epidemic is primarily driven by sexual transmission.
2
Potent, durable HIV-1 prevention strategies are required to reduce the risk of viral transmission from infected persons to their sexual partners. Observational studies involving serodiscordant couples have suggested that antiretroviral therapy (ART) in persons with HIV-1 infection reduces . . .
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito‐borne RNA virus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family. While flavivirus replication is known to occur in the cytoplasm, a significant portion of the viral capsid ...protein localizes to the nucleus during infection. However, the role of the nuclear capsid is less clear. Herein, we demonstrated SERTA domain containing 3 (SERTAD3) as an antiviral interferon stimulatory gene product had an antiviral ability to ZIKV but not JEV. Mechanistically, we found that SERTAD3 interacted with the capsid protein of ZIKV in the nucleolus and reduced capsid protein abundance through proteasomal degradation. Furthermore, an eight amino acid peptide of SERTAD3 was identified as the minimum motif that binds with ZIKV capsid protein. Remarkably, the eight amino acids synthetic peptide from SERTAD3 significantly prevented ZIKV infection in culture and pregnant mouse models. Taken together, these findings not only reveal the function of SERTAD3 in promoting proteasomal degradation of a specific viral protein but also provide a promising host‐targeted therapeutic strategy against ZIKV infection.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The 2017-2018 yellow fever virus (YFV) outbreak in southeastern Brazil marked a reemergence of YFV in urban states that had been YFV-free for nearly a century. Unlike earlier urban YFV transmission, ...this epidemic was driven by forest mosquitoes. The objective of this study was to evaluate environmental drivers of this outbreak.
Using surveillance data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health on human and non-human primate (NHP) cases of YFV, we traced the spatiotemporal progression of the outbreak. We then assessed the epidemic timing in relation to drought using a monthly Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and evaluated demographic risk factors for rural or outdoor exposure amongst YFV cases. Finally, we developed a mechanistic framework to map the relationship between drought and YFV. Both human and NHP cases were first identified in a hot, dry, rural area in northern Minas Gerais before spreading southeast into the more cool, wet urban states. Outbreaks coincided with drought in all four southeastern states of Brazil and an extreme drought in Minas Gerais. Confirmed YFV cases had an increased odds of being male (OR 2.6; 95% CI 2.2-3.0), working age (OR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.5-2.1), and reporting any recent travel (OR: 2.8; 95% CI: 2.3-3.3). Based on this data as well as mosquito and non-human primate biology, we created the "Mono-DrY" mechanistic framework showing how an unusual drought in this region could have amplified YFV transmission at the rural-urban interface and sparked the spread of this epidemic.
The 2017-2018 YFV epidemic in Brazil originated in hot, dry rural areas of Minas Gerais before expanding south into urban centers. An unusually severe drought in this region may have created environmental pressures that sparked the reemergence of YFV in Brazil's southeastern cities.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The following month, a national public health emergency was declared in Brazil in response to growing concerns about the potential association between Zika virus and newborn microcephaly, with 1248 ...reported cases--20 times greater than the expected number.1 Following this announcement, additional progress was made in establishing more definitive associations between Zika virus and congenital anomalies, including microcephaly.2,3 Studies in mouse models have addressed the causal relation between Zika virus infection in pregnancy and pathological changes in fetuses.4,5 Although a growing body of evidence suggests that Zika virus causes brain anomalies and microcephaly, describing what has been identified as congenital Zika virus infection syndrome, there is a paucity of published prospective epidemiological studies.3 A study by Thalia Araújo and colleagues6 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases might be a missing piece to the puzzle, providing necessary epidemiological data to further advance our understanding of the association.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK