Corticosteroids Use and Incidence of Severe Infections in People Living with HIV Compared to a Matched Population

Longitudinal Extensive Transverse Myelitis due to Varicella-Zoster Virus Infection in an Undiagnosed HIV-Positive Patient

Introduction

Longitudinal extensive transverse myelitis (LETM) has four main causes: inflammatory, malnutrition, vascular, and infectious causes. Among the commonly described viral causes leading to LETM are the Herpesviridae family, HIV, and HTLV-1. Case Presentation. A 43-year-old man presented with asymmetric weakness of the lower limbs (the left side was weaker), urinary retention, and flank pain. The symptoms began five days after shingle eruption and progressed over twelve days. He was diagnosed with longitudinal extensive transvers myelitis extending from T4 to T6, which corresponded to the same dermatome involved in shingles. The PCR result of cerebrospinal fluid was positive for varicella-zoster virus with a viral load of 500 copies/ml. Additionally, the initial HIV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test was positive, and his CD4 count was 72 cells/mm3. Other lab results were normal. Based on the appearance of LETM in the thoracic MRI at T4-T6, VZV myelitis was diagnosed, and treatment was initiated with acyclovir (30 mg/kg divided daily for twenty-one days), methylprednisolone (1 g/day for three days), prophylactic antibiotics (trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, rifampin, and isoniazid), and antiretroviral therapy (dolutegravir and Truvada). After 2-month follow-up, he was nearly free of symptoms.

Conclusion

Infection is one of the critical causes of transverse myelitis. When a patient presents with skin shingles along with myelopathy, varicella-zoster myelitis should be considered, and the patient should be evaluated in terms of immune system dysfunction. Treatment with acyclovir has been shown to be effective in reducing clinical symptoms in such cases.

Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor Encephalitis in People Living with HIV: Case Report and Literature Review

With the increase in the number of cases of autoimmune encephalitis (AE), the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of people living with HIV (PLWH) showing abnormal behavior, cognitive impairment or abnormal movements should be actively screened for the antibody panel of AE. Early recognition and treatment can prevent severe seizures or coma and markedly improve the prognosis of patients. The first-line immunotherapy for AE includes intravenous methylprednisolone and immunoglobulin. However, whether long-time immunosuppressive maintenance therapy is needed is debated. For PLWH, immunosuppressive therapy and even steroids could be more challenging. Here, we review and summarize the clinical characteristics often reported cases and report one case from our center to improve the diagnosis and treatment of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis in PLWH.

Profile of the cohort of people being treated for HIV infection in the SUS, Brazil, 2015-2018

OBJECTIVE

To build an integrated database of individual and service data from the cohort of people who started antiretroviral therapy (ART), from 2015 to 2018, in Brazil.

METHODS

Open cohort study that includes people aged 15 years or older who started ART from 2015 to 2018, with follow-up in services of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), and who responded to the 2016/2017 Qualiaids national survey. The source of individual data was the related HIV database, derived from the probabilistic linkage between data from the SUS systems of diagnostic information, medication, tests, and deaths. The data source for the services was the services' response database to the Qualiaids survey. After analysis of consistency and exclusions, the database of individuals was deterministically related to the database of services.

RESULTS

The cohort comprised 132,540 people monitored in 941 SUS services. Of these services, 59% are located in the Southeast region and 49% followed 51 to 500 cohort participants. The average performance of organization and management of patient care ranged from 29% to 75%. Most of the cohort participants are male, black and mixed, aged between 20 and 39 years old, and have between 4 and 11 years of schooling. Median baseline T-CD4 was 419 cells/mm3, 6% had an episode of tuberculosis, and 2% died of HIV disease.

CONCLUSION

For the first time in Brazil, this cohort provides the opportunity for a joint analysis of individual factors and services in the production of positive and negative clinical outcomes of HIV treatment.

Relevance of biomarkers indicating gut damage and microbial translocation in people living with HIV

The intestinal barrier has the daunting task of allowing nutrient absorption while limiting the entry of microbial products into the systemic circulation. HIV infection disrupts the intestinal barrier and increases intestinal permeability, leading to microbial product translocation. Convergent evidence has shown that gut damage and an enhanced level of microbial translocation contribute to the enhanced immune activation, the risk of non-AIDS comorbidity, and mortality in people living with HIV (PLWH). Gut biopsy procedures are invasive, and are not appropriate or feasible in large populations, even though they are the gold standard for intestinal barrier investigation. Thus, validated biomarkers that measure the degree of intestinal barrier damage and microbial translocation are needed in PLWH. Hematological biomarkers represent an objective indication of specific medical conditions and/or their severity, and should be able to be measured accurately and reproducibly via easily available and standardized blood tests. Several plasma biomarkers of intestinal damage, i.e., intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP), zonulin, and regenerating islet-derived protein-3α (REG3α), and biomarkers of microbial translocation, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and (1,3)-β-D-Glucan (BDG) have been used as markers of risk for developing non-AIDS comorbidities in cross sectional analyses and clinical trials, including those aiming at repair of gut damage. In this review, we critically discuss the value of different biomarkers for the estimation of gut permeability levels, paving the way towards developing validated diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to repair gut epithelial damage and to improve overall disease outcomes in PLWH.