Antiretroviral Therapy outcomes among adolescents and youth in rural Zimbabwe

Around 2 million adolescents and 3 million youth are estimated to be living with HIV worldwide. Antiretroviral outcomes for this group appear to be worse compared to adults. We report antiretroviral therapy outcomes from a rural setting in Zimbabwe among patients aged 10-30 years who were initiated on ART between 2005 and 2008. The cohort was stratified into four age groups: 10-15 (young adolescents) 15.1-19 years (adolescents), 19.1-24 years (young adults) and 24.1-29.9 years (older adults). Survival analysis was used to estimate rates of deaths and loss to follow-up stratified by age group. Endpoints were time from ART initiation to death or loss to follow-up. Follow-up of patients on continuous therapy was censored at date of transfer, or study end (31 December 2008). Sex-adjusted Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios for different age groups. 898 patients were included in the analysis; median duration on ART was 468 days. The risk of death were highest in adults compared to young adolescents (aHR 2.25, 95%CI 1.17-4.35). Young adults and adolescents had a 2-3 times higher risk of loss to follow-up compared to young adolescents. When estimating the risk of attrition combining loss to follow-up and death, young adults had the highest risk (aHR 2.70, 95%CI 1.62-4.52). This study highlights the need for adapted adherence support and service delivery models for both adolescents and young adults

Long-term virological outcome in children on antiretroviral therapy in the UK and Ireland

Objective: To assess factors at the start of antiretroviral therapy (ART) associated with long-term virological response in children. Design: Multicentre national cohort. Methods: Factors associated with viral load below 400 copies/ml by 12 months and virologic failure among children starting 3/4-drug ART in the UK/Irish Collaborative HIV Paediatric Study were assessed using Poisson models. Results: Nine hundred and ninety-seven children started ART at a median age of 7.7 years (inter-quartile range 2.9–11.7), 251 (25%) below 3 years: 411 (41%) with efavirenz and two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (EFVþ2NRTIs), 264 (26%) with nevirapine and two NRTIs (NVPþ2NRTIs), 119 (12%; 106 NVP, 13 EFV) with non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor and three NRTIs (NNRTIþ3NRTIs), and 203 (20%) with boosted protease inhibitor-based regimens. Median follow-up after ART initiation was 5.7 (3.0–8.8) years. Viral load was less than 400 copies/ml by 12 months in 92% [95% confidence interval (CI) 91–94%] of the children. Time to suppression was similar across regimens (P¼0.10), but faster over calendar time, with older age and lower baseline viral load. Three hundred and thirtynine (34%) children experienced virological failure. Although progression to failure varied by regimen (P<0.001) and was fastest for NVPþ2NRTIs regimens, risk after 2 years on therapy was similar for EFVþ2NRTIs and NVPþ2NRTIs, and lowest for NNRTIþ3NRTIs regimens (P-interaction¼0.03). Older age, earlier calendar periods and maternal ART exposure were associated with increased failure risk. Early treatment discontinuation for toxicity occurred more frequently for NVP-based regimens, but 5-year cumulative incidence was similar: 6.1% (95% CI 3.9–8.9%) NVP, 8.3% (95% CI 5.6–11.6) EFV, and 9.8% (95% CI 5.7–15.3%) protease inhibitor-based regimens (P¼0.48). Conclusion: Viral load suppression by 12 months was high with all regimens. NVPþ3NRTIs regimens were particularly efficacious in the longer term and may be a good alternative to protease inhibitor-based ART in young children

Antioxidant capacity is repeatable across years but does not consistently correlate with a marker of peroxidation in a free-living passerine bird

Many thanks to the landowners of Gotland for access to the study sites; to Lars Gustafsson for logistics on the field; to fifteen students and field assistants for their contribution to fieldwork; to François Criscuolo for his help designing the study and his comments on this manuscript; to Holger Schielzeth and Pierre de Villemereuil for their advice on adjusting repeatability and correlation estimates for measurement error and to Alan A. Cohen, David Costantini and anonymous reviewers for their comments on previous versions of this manuscript. This work was supported by the French National Center for Scientific Research (PICS France34 Switzerland to B.D.); the French Ministry of Research (PhD fellowship to C.R.); the University of Aberdeen (stipend to C.R.); the L’Oréal Foundation-UNESCO “For Women in Science” program (fellowship to C.R.); the Région Rhône-Alpes (Explora’doc mobility grant to C.R.); the Fédération de Recherche 41 BioEnvironnement et Santé (training grant to CR); the Rectors’ Conference of the Swiss Universities (joint doctoral program grant to C.R.) and the Fondation pour l'Université de Lausanne (exchange grant to C.R.); and the Journal of Experimental Biology (travel grant to CR).Peer reviewedPostprin

Outcome of CO2 laser vaporization for oral potentially malignant disorders treatment

Oral cancer is a public health issue worldwide. Oral potentially malignant disorders (OMPDs) are lesions of the oral mucosa that are predisposed to malignant transformation. The mainstay of OMPDs treatment around the world is now the carbon dioxide (CO2) laser but the reported recurrence and malignant transformation rates vary widely in the literature. We aimed to estimate the recurrence and the malignant transformation rates of OPMDs treated with CO2 laser at the University Hospital of Bordeaux, in France, from 2010 to 2014, and to identify associated factors with recurrence or malignant transformation. We conducted a retrospective study in patients with a minimum follow-up of 12 months. Collected variables included characteristics of the patients (gender, age, alcohol and tobacco consumption, previous diagnosis of graft-versus-host disease, previous treatments for OPMD or for upper aerodigestive tract cancers and human immunodeficiency virus infection), characteristics of the lesions (form, colour, size, location, degree of dysplasia), laser treatment outcome (complications, recurrence, malignant transformation). Twenty-five patients were included. Mean follow-up was 28.9 months. Recurrence was observed in 11 patients (44%). Annual recurrence rate was 18.3% and annual malignant transformation rate was 1.7%. Hyperplasia without dysplasia was the only factor found to be statistically associated with recurrence. Our results suggest that OMPDs treated by CO2 laser vaporization have high recurrence rates, particularly those presenting hyperplasia. A standardized definition of recurrence would be necessary for inter-study comparisons. Long-term follow-up is recommended in order to detect and treat squamous cell carcinoma in its early stages

Use of aspirin to reduce risk of initial vascular events in patients at moderate risk of cardiovascular disease (ARRIVE): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background The use of aspirin in the primary prevention of cardiovascular events remains controversial. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of aspirin versus placebo in patients with a moderate estimated risk of a first cardiovascular event. Methods ARRIVE is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study done in seven countries. Eligible patients were aged 55 years (men) or 60 years (women) and older and had an average cardiovascular risk, deemed to be moderate on the basis of the number of specific risk factors. We excluded patients at high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding or other bleeding, or diabetes. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) with a computer-generated randomisation code to receive enteric-coated aspirin tablets (100 mg) or placebo tablets, once daily. Patients, investigators, and others involved in treatment or data analysis were masked to treatment allocation. The primary efficacy endpoint was a composite outcome of time to first occurrence of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, stroke, or transient ischaemic attack. Safety endpoints were haemorrhagic events and incidence of other adverse events, and were analysed in the intention-to-treat population. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00501059. Findings Between July 5, 2007, and Nov 15, 2016, 12 546 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive aspirin (n=6270) or placebo (n=6276) at 501 study sites. Median follow-up was 60 months. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the primary endpoint occurred in 269 (4·29%) patients in the aspirin group versus 281 (4·48%) patients in the placebo group (hazard ratio [HR] 0·96; 95% CI 0·81–1·13; p=0·6038). Gastrointestinal bleeding events (mostly mild) occurred in 61 (0·97%) patients in the aspirin group versus 29 (0·46%) in the placebo group (HR 2·11; 95% CI 1·36–3·28; p=0·0007). The overall incidence rate of serious adverse events was similar in both treatment groups (n=1266 [20·19%] in the aspirin group vs n=1311 [20·89%] in the placebo group. The overall incidence of adverse events was similar in both treatment groups (n=5142 [82·01%] vs n=5129 [81·72%] in the placebo group). The overall incidence of treatment-related adverse events was low (n=1050 [16·75%] vs n=850 [13·54%] in the placebo group; p<0·0001). There were 321 documented deaths in the intention-to-treat population (n=160 [2·55%] vs n=161 [2·57%] of 6276 patients in the placebo group). Interpretation The event rate was much lower than expected, which is probably reflective of contemporary risk management strategies, making the study more representative of a low-risk population. The role of aspirin in primary prevention among patients at moderate risk could therefore not be addressed. Nonetheless, the findings with respect to aspirin's effects are consistent with those observed in the previously published low-risk primary prevention studies

Drivers’ Experiences of Traffic Police Corruption and the Implications for Governance Reform: Case Study of Madagascar’s National Police and Gendarmerie

This study explores drivers’ experiences of traffic police corruption in Madagascar, focusing on operations within the National Police and Gendarmerie. Using qualitative research methods, the study conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 30 drivers from diverse socio-economic backgrounds who regularly interacted with traffic authorities in urban and rural regional in Madagascar. The interviews aimed to explore drivers’ perceptions, personal experiences, and coping strategies for navigating traffic encounters caused by corruption. The results indicate that drivers face frequent bribery demands from traffic police, especially in cases of minor infractions, where bribery is considered an effective means to avoid legal penalties. The study also highlights the role of power dynamics and lack of accountability in these corrupt practices. Informal networks of drivers and police contribute to a cycle of mutual reinforcement. Drivers’ responses also reveal a widespread erosion of trust in both the national police and gendarmerie, which are seen as a barrier to effective policing and public safety. The study underscores the need for reform of law enforcement practices, enhanced oversight, increased public awareness, and highlighting the critical role of the government in reducing corruption and improving traffic law enforcement in Madagascar

Evolving uses of oral reverse transcriptase inhibitors in the HIV-1 epidemic: From treatment to prevention

The HIV epidemic continues unabated, with no highly effective vaccine and no cure. Each new infection has significant economic, social and human costs and prevention efforts are now as great a priority as global antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale up. Reverse transcriptase inhibitors, the first licensed class of ART, have been at the forefront of treatment and prevention of mother to child transmission over the past two decades. Now, their use in adult prevention is being

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT BETWEEN TEACHERS AND STUDENTS: CASE OF ESPERANTO PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL IN MADAGASCAR

This study aims to understand in depth the dynamics of management conflicts between teachers and students in school through a qualitative approach using interview techniques. This study involved teachers, students, parents and principal from Esperanto private High School in Madagascar who were selected purposively to represent a variety of perspectives. Interviews were conducted with the aim of identifying the factors that caused the conflicts and how each party proposed some solutions to manage the conflicts. The findings show that conflicts between teachers and students can appear in various forms, ranging from disagreements in teaching methods, differences in expectations between teachers and students, to student behavior problems that affect the learning process. Ineffective conflict management in school causes negative impacts, both on the learning environment and on students' emotional development. Some of the strategies found in this study include open communication, a more flexible approach from teachers, and providing space for students to actively participate in learning. With a deeper understanding of the causes and impacts of conflicts, school has to design more effective policies to address this problem, as well as improving the quality of learning to more inclusive and supporting student development

PLoS One

AIM: Metabolic risk factors are poorly documented for the first generation of young adults who have lived with HIV since childhood. We compared their metabolic profile with that of adults of same age from the general population. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data from two populations: (1) COVERTE (ANRS-CO19), a French national cohort of 18 to 30-year-old patients HIV-infected since childhood, and (2) ENNS, a national cross-sectional population-based household survey on nutrition. Body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, waist circumference, fasting glucose, triglycerides, and HDL-, LDL- and total cholesterol were measured in both studies. Direct standardization on overweight and education level and logistic regression were used to compare the prevalence of metabolic abnormalities between the two populations. RESULTS: Data from 268 patients from COVERTE and 245 subjects from ENNS were analyzed. Tobacco use was similar in both groups. HIV-infected patients had increased mean waist-to-hip ratio and triglycerides to HDL-cholesterol ratio and decreased mean HDL-cholesterol as compared to their counterparts from the general population in both genders. In HIV-infected patients, metabolic syndrome was identified in 13.2% of men (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.1-19.2) and 10.4% (95% CI: 5.4-15.3) of women versus 10.6% (95%CI: 1.5-19.7) and 1.7% (95%CI: 0-4.1) in subjects from the general population, respectively. CONCLUSION: Young adults infected with HIV since childhood had a higher prevalence of dyslipidemia and metabolically detrimental fat distribution than adults of same age of the general population, supporting close monitoring for cardiometabolic diseases