Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

N Clumeck

Publications and source records attributed to N Clumeck.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Preliminary results on clinical and immunological effects of thymus hormone preparations in AIDS.

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the newly recognized agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Global defects of the immune functions, including T- and B-cell immunity, macrophage functions and cytokine production, are commonly observed among patients with HIV infection. Many studies have shown thymus involvement and endocrine function impairments among these patients. Clinical trials with thymic compounds aiming at restoring the immune dysfunctions will be reviewed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

AIDS in Africa.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

[Heterosexual transmission of AIDS].

Heterosexual bidirectional transmission of HIV is now clearly proved. In Western countries, and in particular in Belgium, the existence of clusters of heterosexual transmission demonstrates that, as in Central Africa, the epidemic could spread among heterosexuals. Sexual contacts with partners who belong to different high risk groups for HIV may introduce the virus in the general population. This is mainly true with bisexual men, IV drug users or people originating from endemic areas. Prostitutes are also at high risk to be infected and to transmit HIV. Prevention campaigns toward heterosexuals should begin at a pre-epidemic stage and focus on counselling of infected individuals, voluntary testing of contacts of these subjects and selected screening programmes.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Antiviral drugs other than zidovudine and immunomodulating therapies in human immunodeficiency virus infection. An overview.

Although the management of patients with human immunodeficiency virus infections has focused on the treatment of opportunistic infections, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related cancers in end stages of the disease, therapies now aim at preventing the natural progression of the underlying disease. In addition to zidovudine many investigational drugs are proposed to treat AIDS-related complex patients. Most of these therapies can be divided into two major groups: (1) The first group includes agents with antiretroviral properties: nucleoside analogues, such as 2'-3'-dideoxycytidine and ribavirin, suramin, antimoniotungstate (heteropolyanion-23), foscarnet (phosphonoformate), interferons, peptide T, castanospermine, dextran sulfate, AL721, or ampligen. (2) The second group aims to restore the defective immune system; it includes thymosin (thymopentin), interleukin-2, cyclosporine, plasmapheresis, bone marrow transplantation, inosine, sodium diethyldithiocarbamate, methionine-enkephalin and carrisyn. At present, no drug other than zidovudine has proved as monotherapy to lengthen survival of human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Current problems in the management of AIDS patients.

Human immunodeficiency virus infection has numerous clinical manifestations and affects patients from a broad spectrum of social, ethical, cultural and psychological backgrounds. As a result the practising physician has to face multiple, recurrent and complicated problems. This review focuses on the means of early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of opportunistic infections. It also stresses the need for a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to provide optimal care and to diminish the sense of frustration in treating young patients with an ultimately fatal disease.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Salmonella bacteremia in African patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection.

During a two-year period, 26 Central African patients with AIDS or AIDS-related complex were seen in two Belgian hospitals and five of these patients presented with non-typhoid Salmonella bacteremia. Three additional patients were observed in a Rwandese hospital. These eight African patients were compared with 16 non-AIDS patients with non-typhoid Salmonella bacteremias. The patients with AIDS or AIDS-related complex did not have gastroenteritis, but they did have a high recurrence rate and high prevalence of Salmonella typhimurium. Long-term antibiotic prophylaxis seems warranted for such patients despite the high frequency of side effects from antibiotics.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1988

Teicoplanin compared with vancomycin in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections: preliminary results.

Twenty-one patients were included in an open randomized study comparing vancomycin 1 g bd with teicoplanin 400 mg daily in severe methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. The median duration of therapy was 15 days for vancomycin and 21 days for teicoplanin. Most patients presented with severe underlying conditions, such as major surgery (8), solid tumours (5), multiple trauma (3). The infections treated, included septicaemia, osteomyelitis, bronchopneumonia, cellulitis and acute pyelonephritis. Mean MICs of the strains were 0.39 mg/l for vancomycin and 0.195 mg/l for teicoplanin. Mean trough and peak serum concentrations of vancomycin were 14.3 +/- 5 mg/l and 34.3 +/- 13 mg/l, while the teicoplanin values were 7.5 +/- 4 mg/l and 17 +/- 7 mg/l. The cure rate was seven of 12 in the teicoplanin group and six of nine in the vancomycin group, with four and three cases, respectively, of improvement and one failure in the teicoplanin group. Transient renal impairment occurred in two cases with both regimens; superinfection and colonization in three patients and one patient, respectively, with both regimens.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[Pulmonary manifestations of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome].

After reviewing the immunological anomalies provoked by the human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) as well as their implications in pulmonary pathology, the authors enumerate the diagnostic and therapeutic methods currently available in the treatment of patients suffering from AIDS and pulmonary diseases. The clinical features as well as the chest radiograph--an essential first line tool--may lead to atypical features. Respiratory function tests and scintigraphy to Gallium may be a useful additional diagnostic technique but for a full pulmonary investigation a bronchoalveolar lavage is required and/or transbronchial biopsy. Open lung biopsy is rarely required, and then only as a last resort. The treatment of pneumocystis remains centred on Trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole and Pentamidine, with a similar efficacy (80% care) but both have side-effects which are less frequent but more severe with Pentamidine. Administration of Pentamidine by aerosol, Eflornithine and Trimetrexate are under study. The level of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) seems to be a prognostic factor. The value of prophylaxis is discussed. If the treatment of tuberculosis, an infection which is seen more and more frequently, still rests on classical triple therapy, the treatment of atypical mycobacterial infections is even more deceptive than in non-immuno-suppressed hosts. The same is true with pneumonia due to cytomegalovirus. The treatment of lymphoid interstitial pneumonia which is probably a direct result of HIV infection, remains controversial. On the other hand, pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma is associated with an elevated mortality, and all treatment (interferon and chemotherapy) is disappointing.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1988

Human immunodeficiency virus transmission among heterosexual couples in Central Africa.

From February to June 1986, 150 heterosexual couples with at least one HIV-seropositive member were recruited in the 'Centre Hospitalier de Kigali', Kigali, Rwanda. Of the 138 HIV-seropositive couples in whom both members were tested, 124 (90%) were sexual unions between two antibody-positive partners, illustrating the high efficiency of the heterosexual transmission of HIV. A comparison of these 124 couples with 150 HIV-seronegative couples showed that, in the husbands, seropositivity is significantly associated with sexual contacts with prostitutes and history of sexually transmitted disease (STD) within the past 2 years. Seropositive wives were less likely to be in their first marriage and reported more episodes of STD than seronegative ones. Seropositive couples were similar to seronegatives in their history of blood transfusion, male circumcision and overall use of contraception but not in their use of oral contraceptive pills, which was more frequent; they were more often in polygamous unions. Discriminant analysis showed that STD, sexual contacts with prostitutes and the number of previous unions are the most powerful independent variables associated with the seropositivity of the couples. Most of the risk factors for the couples were the risk factors for the husband, suggesting that in most cases the husband acquired the HIV infection and passed it to his wife.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Seroepidemiological study on sexually transmitted diseases and hepatitis B in African promiscuous heterosexuals in relation to HTLV-III infection.

A seroepidemiological study was performed on HTLV-III, T. pallidum, C. trachomatis and Hepatitis B virus (HBV), in Butare, Rwanda, among 33 female prostitutes, 25 male customers of prostitutes, and 60 male and female controls. As compared with female controls the prostitutes had a higher prevalence of antibodies to HTLV-III (29/33 versus 4/33, p less than 0.001), T. pallidum (TPHA: 27/33 versus 6/33, p less than 0.001; RPR: 19/33 versus 2/33, p less than 0.001; FTA-Abs: 27/33 versus 5/33, p less than 0.001) and C. trachomatis (IgG IF: 31/33 versus 13/33, p less than 0.001). HBV serological markers were more often detected in the prostitutes than in the female controls (31/33 versus 18/33, p less than 0.001) although HBs antigen carriage rate was similar in both groups. As compared with male controls, the male customers of prostitutes had more frequently detectable antibodies to HTLV-III (7/25 versus 2/27, p = 0.05), and a positive RPR (10/25 versus 1/27, p less than 0.01). Among the 118 individuals studied, odds ratios and trend analysis disclosed a significant association between HTLV-III seropositivity and a positive TPHA, RPR, FTA-Abs, Chlamydia IgG IF test and serological markers to HBV. No association was found between HTLV-III seropositivity and HBs Ag carriage. This study suggests that HTLV-III has to be considered as an infectious agent transmitted among promiscuous Central African heterosexuals by sexual contact and/or parenteral contact with unsterile needles used for STD treatments.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1987

Absence of antibodies to HIV-2/HTLV-4 in six central African nations.

We studied 1508 individuals from Zaire, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Kenya, and Cameroon for antibodies to HIV-2/HTLV-4. AIDS, ARC, other disease or tumor patients and healthy people were sampled from 1984-1986. By radioimmunoprecipitation and SDS/PAGE analysis and/or Western blot we failed to find any samples with specific antibodies to HIV-2/HTLV-4 indicative of infection. In contrast, 363 of these 1508 individuals demonstrated antibodies to HIV-1/HTLV-3B by the same serologic assays. HIV-2/HTLV-4 infection appears to be quite rare in Central Africa. AIDS and related syndromes in this study were exclusively correlated with HIV-1 infection. Studies in West Africa have shown high rates of infection with HIV-2/HTLV-4 where cases of AIDS are still relatively uncommon. These results indicate that HIV-2/HTLV-4 has a distinct geographic distribution from that of HIV-1 in Africa. Further studies are necessary to better define the pathogenicity and natural history of this distinct new virus, HIV-2/HTLV-4.

Antibodies, Viral↗