Uninfected Women (uninfected + woman)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Peripheral arterial disease in HIV-infected and uninfected women

HIV MEDICINE, Issue 8 2007
A Sharma
Objective Although HIV infection has been associated with increased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events, peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has not been assessed in HIV-infected patients. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of, and risk factors for, PAD using ankle-brachial index (ABI) measurement in HIV-infected and uninfected women. Methods ABI was determined for 335 participants in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). A cross-sectional analysis was conducted to determine factors associated with high (,1.40) ABI. Results The prevalence of low ABI (,0.9) was 0.9% (n=3) and the prevalence of high ABI (,1.40) was 6.9% (n=23). The prevalence of low ABI was too low to allow risk factor analysis. On multivariate analysis, factors associated with high ABI were current cigarette smoking [adjusted odds ratio (ORadj) 2.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.99,6.43], being underweight (ORadj 11.0, 95% CI 1.61,75.63) and being overweight (ORadj 5.40, 95% CI 1.13,25.89). Conclusions Although the prevalence of ABI ,0.9 was low in this cohort of HIV-infected and uninfected women, the prevalence of ABI ,1.40 was unexpectedly high. Further studies are indicated to determine the clinical significance of high ABI and its relation to the risk of cardiovascular events in HIV-infected women. [source]


Impact of human immunodeficiency virus 1 infection and inflammation on the composition and yield of cervical mononuclear cells in the female genital tract

IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 1pt2 2009
Nonhlanhla N. Nkwanyana
Summary Cervical cytobrush sampling is a relatively non-invasive method for obtaining mucosal cells from the female genital tract. To define mucosal immune cells sampled by cervical cytobrushing and to validate this approach for local immunity studies, we investigated the impact of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status and inflammation on the yield and composition of cervical cytobrush specimens. Cervical cytobrush samples were obtained from 89 chronically HIV-infected and 46 HIV-negative women. The HIV-infected women had significantly higher yields of CD3+, CD45+, CD19+, CD14+, Langerin+ and CD24+ cells than the uninfected women. While cytobrush-derived T cells from uninfected women were predominantly CD4+ (4·2 CD4 : 1 CD8), CD8+ T cells were predominant in HIV-infected women (0·6 CD4 : 1 CD8). The majority of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from HIV-infected and uninfected women were of the effector memory (CD45RA, CCR7, CD27,) phenotype. HIV-infected women had significantly elevated levels of interleukin (IL)-1,, IL-6 and IL-8 in cervical supernatants compared with uninfected women. We observed a significant positive correlation between T-cell counts and IL-1,, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-, and IL-12 concentrations. Neutrophil counts correlated significantly with cervical concentrations of IL-1,, TNF-,, IL-8, IL-6 and IL-10. Antigen-presenting cell numbers correlated significantly with TNF-, and IL-12 concentrations. HIV-infected women on antiretroviral therapy had similar levels of cervical lymphocyte infiltration and inflammation to women naïve to therapy. In conclusion, we suggest that inflammation at the cervix and HIV infection are likely to be key determinants in the absolute number of mucosal immune cells recovered by cervical cytobrushing. [source]


Low rate of oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in women screened for cervical HPV infection in Southern Italy: A cross-sectional study of 140 immunocompetent subjects

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 8 2009
Nicoletta Termine
Abstract Even though the natural history of cervical and oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been investigated intensely, the possibility that HPV may infect both sites in the same subject is not well documented. This study investigated the frequency of concurrent oral and cervical HPV infection in southern Italian women, in the light of some selected socio-behavioral variables. One hundred forty women (mean age: 36 years), with known cervical HPV status, were analyzed for oral HPV. Age, smoking/drinking habits, clinical and socio-behavioral history were assessed by personal interviews. Oral mucosal cells were collected by oral brushing and HPV DNA was sought by the use of nested PCR amplification followed by direct DNA sequencing and the commercial assay INNOLiPA HPV Genotyping (Innogenetics N.V., Ghent, Belgium). The data were analyzed by using the chi-square test and a logistic regression (logit) model (P,<,0.05 statistically significant). Oral HPV infection was detected in 2/140 (1.4%) cases, being present in 2/76 (2.6%) women with cervical HPV infection and 0/64 uninfected women (P,=,0.19). A lack of type-specific concordance in the two patients with concurrent infection was observed. In the sample of population examined, HPV cervical infection does not seem to predispose to oral transmission, even in the presence of oral,genital sexual habits, thus suggesting the independence of infection at the two mucosal sites. J. Med. Virol. 81:1438,1443, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Viral load and genomic integration of HPV 16 in cervical samples from HIV-1-infected and uninfected women in Burkina Faso

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 6 2007
Marie-Noelle Didelot Rousseau
Abstract The relationships between human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV 16) viral load, HPV 16 integration status, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) status, and cervical cytology were studied among women enrolled in a cohort of female sex workers in Burkina Faso. The study focused on 24 HPV 16-infected women. The HPV 16 viral load in cervical samples was determined by real-time PCR. Integration ratio was estimated as the ratio between E2 and E6 genes DNA copy numbers. Integrated HPV16 viral load was defined as the product of HPV 16 viral load by the integration ratio. High HPV 16 viral load and high integration ratio were more frequent among women with squamous intraepithelial lesions compared with women with normal cytology (33% vs. 11%, and 33% vs. 0%, respectively), and among women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions compared with women without high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (50% vs. 17%, and 50% vs. 11%, respectively). High HPV 16 DNA load, but not high integration ratio, was also more frequent among HIV-1-positive women (39% vs. 9%; and 23% vs. 18%, respectively). The absence of statistical significance of these differences might be explained by the small study sample size. High-integrated HPV 16 DNA load was significantly associated with the presence of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (50% vs. 5%, P,=,0.03) in univariate and multivariate analysis (adjusted odds-ratio: 19.05; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.11,328.3, P,=,0.03), but not with HIV-1 or other high-risk HPV types (HR-HPV). Integrated HPV 16 DNA load may be considered as a useful marker of high-grade cervical lesions in HPV 16-infected women. J. Med. Virol. 79: 766,770, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Micronutrients and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in the Context of HIV Infection

NUTRITION REVIEWS, Issue 7 2004
Dr.P.H., Wafaie Fawzi M.B.
HIV infection is a global public health problem, particularly in Africa. Concurrently, micronutrient deficiencies and adverse pregnancy outcomes are prevalent in the same settings. Supplements containing B complex and vitamins C and E were efficacious in reducing adverse pregnancy outcomes, including fetal loss, low birth weight, and prematurity among HIV-infected women; the generalizability of this finding to uninfected women is being examined. There is little encouragement from published studies to provide prenatal vitamin A supplements in HIV infection, particularly in light of significantly higher risk of mother-to-child transmission observed in one trial. The efficacy and safety of prenatal zinc and selenium supplements on these outcomes need to be examined in randomized trials. [source]