Impact of Raltegravir or Efavirenz on Cell-Associated Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 (HIV-1) Deoxyribonucleic Acid and Systemic Inflammation in HIV-1/Tuberculosis Coinfected Adults Initiating Antiretroviral Therapy.

BACKGROUND: In view of the fast viremia decline obtained with integrase inhibitors, we studied the respective effects of initiating efavirenz (EFV) or raltegravir (RAL)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) levels and inflammation biomarkers in the highly inflammatory setting of advanced HIV-1 disease with tuberculosis (TB) coinfection. METHODS: We followed cell-associated HIV-1 DNA, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), soluble CD14 and D-Dimer levels for 48 weeks after ART initiation in the participants to the ANRS12-180 REFLATE-TB study. This phase II open-label randomized study included ART-naive people with HIV and TB treated with rifampicin to receive RAL 400 mg twice daily (RAL400), RAL 800 mg twice daily (RAL800) or EFV 600 mg QD with tenofovir and lamivudine. RESULTS: In 146 participants, the median (interquartile range [IQR]) week (W)0 HIV-1 DNA level was 4.7 (IQR, 4.3-5.1) log10 copies/106 CD4+, and the reduction by W48 was -0.8 log10 copies/106 CD4+ on EFV, -0.9 on RAL400, and -1.0 on RAL800 (P = .74). Baseline median (IQR) hsCRP, IL-6, sCD14, and D-Dimer levels were 6.9 (IQR, 3.3-15.6) mg/L, 7.3 (IQR, 3.5-12.3) pg/mL, 3221 (IQR, 2383-4130) ng/mL, and 975 (IQR, 535-1970) ng/mL. All biomarker levels decreased over the study: the overall W0-W48 mean (95% confidence interval) fold-change on ART was 0.37 (IQR, 0.28-0.48) for hsCRP, 0.42 (IQR, 0.35-0.51) for IL-6, 0.51 (IQR, 0.47-0.56) for sCD14, and 0.39 (IQR, 0.32-0.47) for D-Dimers. There were no differences in biomarker reduction across treatment arms. CONCLUSIONS: In participants with HIV and TB, EFV, RAL400, or RAL800 effectively and equally reduced inflammation and HIV-1 DNA levels.

Incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of central venous catheter-related thromboembolism in breast cancer patients: the CAVECCAS study.

Previous epidemiologic studies investigating central venous catheter (CVC)-related venous thromboembolism (CRT) were conducted in heterogenous cancer populations and data in breast cancer (BC) remain limited. To investigate the Doppler ultrasound (DUS)-CRT incidence, risk factors and outcomes in BC, we designed a prospective, multicenter cohort of nonmetastatic invasive BC patients undergoing insertion of a CVC for chemotherapy. All patients underwent double-blind DUS before, 7, 30, and 90 days after CVC insertion and a 6 months clinical follow-up. Symptomatic DUS-CRT were treated by anticoagulants. D-Dimers, thrombin generation, and platelet-derived microparticles were measured before and 2 days after CVC placement. In DUS-CRT patients, a nested case-control study analyzed the role of thrombophilia. Among 524 patients, the DUS-CRT (14 symptomatic, 46 asymptomatic) cumulative probability was 9.6% at 3 months and 11.5% at 6 months (overall incidence rate: 2.18/100 patient-months). Ten/14 symptomatic DUS-CRT were detected on double-blind DUS before the clinical symptoms, and 3/14 had a simultaneous pulmonary embolism. No clinical thrombotic event subsequently occurred in untreated asymptomatic DUS-CRT. Age >50 years (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.01-3.22), BMI >30 kg/m² (OR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.46-4.76) and comorbidities (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.18-3.56) were associated with DUS-CRT. No biomarkers was found to predict DUS-CRT. In multivariate analysis, BMI >30 kg/m² (OR, 2.66; 95%CI, 1.46-4.84) and lobular carcinoma histology (OR, 2.56; 95%CI, 1.32-4.96) remained the only significant DUS-CRT risk factors. Thrombophilia did not account for DUS-CRT. Only clinical parameters identified high risk DUS-CRT patients who may be considered for thromboprophylaxis.

The prevalence and distribution of the amyloidogenic transthyretin (TTR) V122I allele in Africa.

BACKGROUND: Transthyretin (TTR) pV142I (rs76992529-A) is one of the 113 variants in the human TTR gene associated with systemic amyloidosis. It results from a G to A transition at a CG dinucleotide in the codon for amino acid 122 of the mature protein (TTR V122I). The allele frequency is 0.0173 in African Americans. METHODS: PCR-based assays to genotype 2767 DNA samples obtained from participants in genetic studies from various African populations supplemented with sequencing data from 529 samples within the 1000 Genomes Project. RESULTS: The rs76992529-A variant allele was most prevalent (allele frequency 0.0253) in the contiguous West African countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Nigeria. In other African countries, the mean allele frequency was 0.011. CONCLUSIONS: Our data are consistent with a small number of founder carriers of the amyloidogenic TTR V122I (p.Val142Ile) allele in southern West Africa, with no apparent advantage or disadvantage of an allele carrying newborn reaching adulthood. In U.S. African Americans, the allele represents a significant risk for congestive heart failure late in life. If clinical penetrance is similar in African countries with high allele frequencies, then cardiac amyloidosis could also represent a significant cause of heart disease in the elderly in those populations.

Early changes in coagulation but not inflammatory biomarkers under intermittent ART: the randomized ANRS 106 WINDOW trial.

INTRODUCTION: In the SMART trial, baseline plasma hsCRP, IL6 and D-dimer levels were strongly correlated to all-cause mortality. A case-control study has shown an increase of IL-6 and D-dimer levels after one month of antiretroviral therapy (ART) interruption, which was correlated to viral load. Restarting ART was associated to a decrease in D-dimer but not IL-6 or hsCRP levels. We assessed biomarkers levels up to 96 weeks in ART-experienced adults with plasma HIV RNA levels <400 c/mL randomized in the ANRS 106 WINDOW trial to intermittent ART (IT: six cycles of eight weeks of ART interruption followed by eight weeks of ART) versus continuous treatment (CT). METHODS: Stored plasma for 160 participants (80 IT and 80 CT), matched by age, sex and CDC classification, were analyzed blinded for IL-6, sCD-14, hsCRP and D-dimer levels at baseline, week 8 (IT group only), week 16 and week 96. Lower levels of detection for IL-6, sCD14, hsCRP and D-Dimer were 1.5 pg/mL, 250 ng/mL, 0.03 µg/mL and 0.21 µg/mL, respectively. The primary objective was to compare changes in IL-6, hsCRP, sCD14 and D-dimer plasma levels from baseline to week 8, 16 and 96 in the IT and CT arms. Biomarkers levels were log10 transformed prior to analysis. RESULTS: At baseline, patients were mostly men (86%), with a median age of 40 years, a CD4+ T-cell count of 768/mm(3), have received a median of 4.7 years of ART and 85% had HIV RNA <50 c/mL. Proportion of patients with plasma HIV RNA levels<400 c/mL were 6% and 99%, 81% and 97%, 86% and 92% at weeks 8, 16 and 96 in the IT and CT arms, respectively. Plasma biomarkers levels are shown in the Table 1. CONCLUSION: Coagulation and inflammatory biomarkers levels remained stable over 96 weeks in well-suppressed HIV-infected patient on ART. Following ART interruption there was a significant increase in D-dimer but not in inflammatory biomarkers levels. This increase was reversed upon reintroduction of ART. These data suggest that ART interruption increases coagulation rather than inflammatory biomarkers.

Decreases in inflammatory and coagulation biomarkers levels in HIV-infected patients switching from enfuvirtide to raltegravir: ANRS 138 substudy.

Stored plasma specimens from 164 participants in the ANRS 138 trial were analyzed to determine interleukin 6 (IL-6), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and D-dimer levels at baseline and weeks 24 and 48. These virologically suppressed, treatment-experienced patients were randomly assigned to undergo an immediate switch (IS) or a deferred switch (DS; at week 24) from an enfuvirtide-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimen to a raltegravir-based regimen. At week 24, a significant decrease from baseline was observed in the IS arm, compared with the DS arm, for IL-6 level (-30% vs +10%; P < .002), hsCRP level (-46% vs +15%; P < .0001), and D-dimer level (-40% vs +6%; P < .0001). At week 48, there was a reproducible decrease in levels of all biomarkers in the DS arm.