BACKGROUND The role of the host immunity in determining leprosy clinical forms and complications is well recognized, implying that changes in the immune status may interfere with several aspects of the disease. Therefore, we hypothesized that the presence of viral co-infections and associated immunological changes will have a clinical impact on leprosy outcomes. The aim of our study was to dete...

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has comprehensively assessed the human carcinogenicity of biological agents. Seven viruses including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), Kaposi's sarcoma herpes virus (KSHV), human immunodeficiency virus, type-1 (HIV-1), human T cell lymphotrophic virus, type-1 (HTLV-1), and human papillomavirus (HPV)...

The first HIV antibody screening assays were licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in March of 1985. By late summer of 1985 the insurance industry had begun to utilize these test to assess an individual's risk of developing AIDS. At this point the etiological agent responsible for the disease was thought to be part of a family of viruses known as the Human T-Lymphotrophic Virus and...

The aetiology of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas remains a controversial matter, but, recently, evidence has emerged showing that these neoplastic aberrations of the immune system may be due to viruses, at least in some cases. In fact, patients affected by an inherited immune deficiency, and those presenting disease characterized by autoimmune dysfunctions, show an increased risk for the development of...

Some regions of the genomes of human B-lymphotrophic virus (HBLV), also designated as human herpesvirus 6, and Marek's disease virus were found to hybridize to each other under moderate to stringent conditions, scoring from 10 to 30% base-pair mismatch. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that a 6-base-pair repetitive sequence, GGGTTA (DR2), present in the IRS-IRL junction region of the Marek's...

As an acquired immunodeficiency, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is primarily responsible for opportunistic infections in infected patients. However, opportunistic infections also occur in individuals with human T cell lymphotrophic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection. Here, we report opportunistic infections in two Japanese HTLV-1-seropositive patients. The first patient was a 67-year...

Background: Sodium valproate, an anticonvulsant drug, is reported to stimulate Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 and Human cytomegalovirus replication. Since epileptic patients undergoing sodium valproate therapy may suffer from various virus infections, the effect of this drug on replication of viruses especially those affecting neuronal tissues such as Herpes simplex virus type 1 is worthy ...