IMPROVEMENT OF INTESTINAL PERMEABILITY WITH ALANYL-GLUTAMINE IN HIV PATIENTS: a randomized, double blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Context Glutamine is the main source of energy of the enterocyte and diarrhea and weight loss are frequent in HIV infected patients. Objective To determine the effect of alanyl-glutamine supplementation on intestinal permeability and absorption in these patients. Methods Randomized double-blinded, placebo-controlled study using isonitrogenous doses of alanyl-glutamine (24 g/day) and placebo (glycine, 25 g/day) during 10 days. Before and after this nutritional supplementation lactulose and mannitol urinary excretion were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Results Forty six patients with HIV/AIDS, 36 of whom were male, with 37.28 ± 3 (mean ± standard error) years were enrolled. Twenty two and 24 subjects were treated with alanyl-glutamine and with glycine respectively. In nine patients among all in the study protocol that reported diarrhea in the 14 days preceding the beginning of the study, mannitol urinary excretion was significantly lower than patients who did not report this symptom [median (range): 10.51 (3.01–19.75) vs. 15.37 (3.93–46.73); P = 0.0281] and lactulose/mannitol ratio was significantly higher [median (range): 0.04 (0.00–2.89) vs. 0.02 (0.00–0.19); P = 0.0317]. There was also a significant increase in mannitol urinary excretion in the group treated with alanyl-glutamine [median (range): 14.38 (8.25–23.98) before vs 21.24 (6.27–32.99) after treatment; n = 14, P = 0.0382]. Conclusion Our results suggest that the integrity and intestinal absorption are more intensely affected in patients with HIV/AIDS who recently have had diarrhea. Additionally, nutritional supplementation with alanyl-glutamine was associated with an improvement in intestinal absorption. .

Contexto A glutamina é a principal fonte de energia do enterócito e diarreia e perda de peso são frequentes em pacientes infectados pelo HIV. Objetivo Determinar o efeito da alanil-glutamina sobre a permeabilidade e a absorção intestinais nesses pacientes. Métodos Estudo duplo-cego, randomizado, controlado por placebo, utilizando doses isonitrogênicas de alanil-glutamina (24 g/dia) e de placebo (glicina, 25 g/dia) durante 10 dias. Antes e depois dessa suplementação nutricional a excreção urinária de lactulose e manitol foi determinada por cromatografia líquida de alta performance. Resultados Quarenta e seis pacientes com HIV/AIDS, sendo 36 do sexo masculino, com 37,28 ± 3 anos (média ± erro padrão) foram incluídos. Vinte e dois e 24 indivíduos foram tratados com alanil-glutamina e com glicina, respectivamente. Nos nove pacientes que relataram ter apresentado diarreia nos 14 dias anteriores ao início do estudo, a excreção urinária de manitol foi significativamente menor do que nos pacientes que não referiram essa queixa [mediana (intervalo): 10,51 (3,01-19,75) vs 15,37 (3,93-46,73), P = 0,0281] e a razão lactulose/manitol foi significativamente mais elevada [mediana (intervalo): 0,04 (0,00-2,89) vs 0,02 (0,00-0,19), P = 0,0317]. Constatou-se também aumento significativo na excreção urinária de manitol no grupo tratado com alanil-glutamina [mediana (intervalo): 14,38 (8,25-23,98), antes vs 21,24 (6,27-32,99) após o tratamento, n = 14, P = 0,0382]. Conclusão Os resultados do presente estudo sugerem que a integridade e a absorção intestinais são mais intensamente afetadas em pacientes com HIV/AIDS que tiveram diarreia recentemente. Adicionalmente, a suplementação ...

Impact of the number of failed therapeutic regimes on the development of resistance mutations to HIV-1 in northeast Brazil

Highly-potent antiretroviral therapy is necessary to avoid viral replication in HIV patients; however, it can favor the appearance of resistance mutations. The mutations 41L, 67N, 70R, 210W, 215Y/F, 219E/Q, 44D and 118I are defined as nucleoside analogous mutations (NAMs), because they affect the efficacy of all nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI). The mutation most frequently associated with non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) is 103N. 33W/F, 82A/F/L/T, 84V and 90M are called protease inhibitor resistance-associated mutations (PRAM), because they are associated with resistance to several protease inhibitors (PI). This study evaluated the development of resistance mutations and examine the susceptibility of HIV with these mutations to antiretrovirals in HIV-1 patients who have failed one or more therapy regimes. Analyses were made of 101 genotypic tests of patients with therapeutic failure to 2 or 3-drug regimens with NRTI, NNRTI or PI. We used the Stanford database to define the susceptibility profile of the viruses. The samples were divided into three treatment-failure groups: first (F), second (S) and multi-failure (MF) to antiretroviral regimens, and we correlated these groups with resistance profiles and principal mutations. There was a significant increase in resistance mutations V82A/F/L/T, I84V, L90M, M41L, K70R, L210W, T215Y/F and K219Q/E in MF. We also found significantly higher resistance to zidovudine, didanosine, stavudine and abacavir in MF. There was no increase in resistance to tenofovir (p=0.28) and lopinavir (p=0.079) in MF. A high degree of resistance to NNRTIs was observed in all groups. Increased resistance mutations will affect future therapeutic options for HIV patients in Brazil because it results in a significant increase in resistance to antiretroviral drugs.

Genotype testing and antiretroviral resistance profiles from HIV-1 patients experiencing therapeutic failure in northeast Brazil

Genotype testing for HIV-1 drug resistance is useful for selecting antiretroviral drug regimens for patients experiencing therapeutic failure, but the optimal means for interpreting the test results is unknown because many HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase (RT) mutations contribute to drug resistance. This study identified common combinations of resistance mutations related to antiretroviral resistance profiles. From April 2002 to March 2004, 101 protease and RT sequences were determined for HIV-1 isolates from patients who were failing antiretroviral therapy. The resistance profile was evaluated using the Stanford Database program. Male patients predominated (76.2 percent), the median age was 38 years, the average CD4 count was 279.21 cells/mm³ and the average viral load was 4.49 log. In relation to protease inhibitors (IP) 31 mutation patterns were detected, 49 mutation patterns were detected in Nucleoside RT Inhibitors (NRTI), and 17 patterns were found in the Non Nucleoside RT Inhibitors (NNRTI). K65R was detected in 5.9 percent of the isolates. The most frequent mutations were: L90M, M184V and K103N related to PI's, NRTI's and NNRTI's, respectively. The best antiretroviral susceptibility was found to be Lopinavir in the PI class and Tenofovir in the NRTI class. The top six mutation patterns accounted for 49 percent of the resistance to PI's, for 38.5 percent of NRTI resistance, and the top two mutation patterns accounted for 40.9 percent of resistance to NNRTI's.