In the 25 years since the fi rst reported cases of acquired immunodefi ciency syndrome (AIDS), more than 70 million people have been infected with the human immunodefi ciency virus (HIV). HIV is a retrovirus that is spread from mother to child, through blood contamination and through sex. Antiretroviral drugs administered to HIV-infected pregnant women and the newborn child, together with exclu...

me to coordinate a review series on adult immuno-defi ciency, I voluntarily agreed and suggested 10 topics. Th e editors selected six with the greatest importance for rheumatologists. Th e authors of the six articles all come from research groups with outstanding track-records in their respective fi elds. Why present adult-onset immunodefi ciency to a readership of rheumatologists? Th e answer ...

1. Gray KJ, Kafulafula G, Matemba M, Kamdolozi M, Membe G, French N, et al. Streptococcus and HIV infection in pregnant women, Malawi, 2008–2010. Emerg Infect Dis. 2011;17:1932–5. 2. Epalza C, Goetghebuer T, Hainaut M, Prayez F, Barlow P, Dediste A, et al. High incidence of invasive group B streptococcal infections in HIV-exposed uninfected infants. Pediatrics. 2010;126:e631–8. http://dx.doi.or...

Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a progressive lethal demyelinating disease of the brain, caused by JC virus. Reactivation of JC virus due to reduction of cellular immunity especially in setting of AIDS, is the commonest underlying cause. PML has classically been described in individuals with profound cellular immunosuppression such as patients with AIDS, haematological malig...

Ocular complications are common in acquired immunodefi ciency syndrome (AIDS) and occur in 50-75% of patients throughout the course of their illness. Syphilis is the most common bacterial eye infection in these patients and most often presents as uveitis or an optic nerve disease. This condition can manifest as episcleritis, scleritis, dacryoadenitis, anterior uveitis, intermediate uveitis, pap...

Background: Common variable immunodefi ciency (CVID) is a heterogeneous group of disorders, characterized by decreased immunoglobulin levels in serum and increased susceptibility to recurrent infections, autoimmunity, and malignancy. The pathogenesis of CVID is still unknown. Objectives: This study was performed to investigate T-helper (TH) 1 and 2 cytokine levels in patients with CVID. Materia...

the hyperimmunoglobulin e syndromes (hiess) are very rare immunodeficiency syndromes with multisystem involvement, including immune system, skeleton, connective tissue, and dentition. hies are characterized by the classic triad of high serum levels of immunoglobulin e (ige), recurrent staphylococcal cold skin abscess, and recurrent pneumonia with pneumatocele formation. most cases of hies are s...

Scheme 1 . Illustration of colorimetric detection of HIV-1 RNase H activity using unmodifi ed gold nanoparticles. Acquired immune defi ciency syndrome (AIDS) is generally characterized by infection of human immunodefi ciency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Despite enormous efforts in developing antiretroviral drugs, coping with the drug resistance of HIV-1 remains a daunting task. [ 1 ] The ribonuclease ...