OBJECTIVES In Lagos, Nigeria, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Ministry of Health (MoH) commenced free antiretroviral treatment (ART) in a hospital-based clinic. We performed a cross-sectional study to compare factors associated with raised viral load between patients with ("experienced") and without ("naïve") prior antiretroviral (ARV) exposure at commencement of ART at the clinic. We al...

BACKGROUND Evidence from randomized controlled trials supports the use of triple therapy. Research is required on the effectiveness of quadruple therapy in comparison to this and the relative effectiveness of specific highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) combinations. METHODS Antiretroviral-naive individuals (n = 53) with an HIV-1 viral load >100 000 copies/mL were randomized to recei...

BACKGROUND Serial measurement of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels in the liver and its relation with liver damage and serum HBV DNA levels are guide to begin and/or end a treatment course. This study evaluated the relationship between liver hepatitis B DNA viral load with liver histology in patients with chronic hepatitis B (HBV). METHODS Thirty patients with chronic anti-Hbe positive hepat...

Objective: To evaluate the safety and tolerability of RAL therapy and the rapidity with which RAL decreases viral load in HIV-infected pregnant women. Methods: Women were considered for inclusion in the study if they were HIV-seropositive, ≥18 years of age, and received RAL during pregnancy. HIV viral load, CD4 count (absolute), pregnancy demographics, antiretroviral regimens, adverse events, l...

In order to determine the most appropriate interferon (IFN) therapy according to patient background and to evaluate the efficacy of twice-daily IFN-β induction therapy (β2 therapy), 320 patients with chronic hepatitis C who underwent various IFN monotherapy regimens were retrospectively analyzed. Sustained virological response (SVR) and biochemical response (BR) rates were calculated with respe...

We evaluated the predictive value of baseline HIV-1 genotypic resistance mutations for failure of a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) containing therapy. The change in therapy of 88 HIV-1-infected patients was analyzed retrospectively, relating the genotypic resistance profile at baseline to the evolution of viral load and CD4+ T cell counts. Genotypic resistance at baseline and...

BACKGROUND Viral load measurement is necessary to estimate mother-to-child transmission risk for women with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), however, it is expensive. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between HBsAg and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels, and to determine potential applications of HBsAg level monitoring for estimating viral load. METHODS 85 patients with CHB (3...

BACKGROUND The Ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if untreated. However, factors affecting the survival of the disease remain unclear. Here, we investigated the prognostic factors of Ebola virus disease (EVD) through various statistical models. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Sixty three laboratory-confirmed EVD patients with relatively complete clinical profiles...

BACKGROUND Using a dynamic visual display, we examine the changes in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) plasma viral load and CD4 cell count for 5 years after antiretroviral therapy initiation in a large cohort of patients with HIV. METHODS Patients at a Centers for AIDS Research Network of Integrated Clinical Systems site who initiated combination antiretroviral therapy between 1 Ja...