PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

HAART effective for treating HIV-infected children living in DRC

2011-06-15
(Press-News.org) This observational cohort study, by Andrew Edmonds and colleagues, reports that treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) markedly improves the survival of HIV-infected children in Kinshasa, DRC, a resource-deprived setting. The findings presented suggest that HAART is as effective for improving the survival of HIV-infected children in a severely resource-deprived country (still recovering from civil war) as in more resource-privileged settings. Most observational studies on the effects of antiretroviral treatment on child survival have been undertaken in high income countries, such as Italy and the United States. But most children with HIV live in low resource areas where multiple factors, such as delayed presentation to care and a higher incidence of co-occurring conditions, might adversely affect treatment outcomes, so this study addresses a specific need for information on the effects of HAART on children with HIV living in low-income countries.

INFORMATION:

Funding: The HIV care and treatment program at Kalembe Lembe Pediatric Hospital and Bomoi Healthcare Center, conducted in collaboration with the Kinshasa School of Public Health and the National AIDS Control Program, was funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Global AIDS Program (http://www.cdc.gov/globalaids; grant number U62/CCU422422) and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (http://www.pepfar.gov; grant number 5U2GPS001179-01), with additional support from the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (http://www.pedaids.org), the Belgian Development Cooperation (http://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/policy/development_cooperation), the William J. Clinton Foundation (http://www.clintonfoundation.org), the United Nations Children's Fund (http://www.unicef.org), and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (http://www.theglobalfund.org/en). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation: Edmonds A, Yotebieng M, Lusiama J, Matumona Y, Kitetele F, et al. (2011) The Effect of Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy on the Survival of HIV-Infected Children in a Resource-Deprived Setting: A Cohort Study. PLoS Med 8(6): e1001044. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001044

IN YOUR COVERAGE PLEASE USE THIS URL TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE FREELY AVAILABLE PAPER:

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001044

CONTACT:
Andrew Edmonds
Department of Epidemiology
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill
North Carolina
United States of America
aedmonds@email.unc.edu

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New HIV incidence assays could transform AIDS prevention efforts

2011-06-15
HIV prevention activities aiming to reduce incidence could be targeted more effectively and efficiently if a quick, easy, valid, and precise method of estimating incidence in populations were available. These are the conclusions of a group of international experts convened to discuss the challenges and progress in the field, with the aim of stimulating new investment in technologies for identifying recent HIV infections. To tackle the challenges—which include technical and market-related issues—and move towards the goal of having a thoroughly validated incidence assay, ...

Migration interception practices are a major threat to health

2011-06-15
In the fifth article of a six-part PLoS Medicine series on migration & health, Zachary Steel from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia and colleagues discuss the health risks associated with "interception strategies" that are used by governments to control and order international migration, especially in terms of halting the movement of irregular migrants, including asylum seekers. Some strategies like immigration detention, the authors argue, pose a serious threat to health and mental health, while others like visa restrictions have a potentially large ...

Scientists image beginning stages of ovarian cancer growth with time-lapse technique

2011-06-15
PHILADELPHIA — Scientists at Harvard University have created a laboratory model using time-lapse video microscopic technology that allows observation of early stages of ovarian cancer metastasis. "We were able to observe key molecular mechanisms that are necessary for the force-dependent processes associated with metastasis," said Joan Brugge, Ph.D., professor and chair of cell biology at Harvard University. These findings are published in Cancer Discovery, the newest journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. According to Brugge, who served as program ...

Ovarian cancer cells bully their way through tissue

2011-06-15
BOSTON, Mass. (June 14, 2011) — A team led by Joan Brugge, the Louise Foote Pfeiffer Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School, recently shed light on how ovarian cancer spreads. In a paper published in the July edition of the journal Cancer Discovery, the newest journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, Brugge and colleagues found that ovarian cancer cells act like bullies, using brute force to plow their way through tissue and colonize additional organs. "This is the first time that mechanical force has been implicated in the spread of ovarian ...

New light shed on cell division

2011-06-15
Genes control everything from eye color to disease susceptibility, and inheritance - the passing of the genes from generation to generation after they have been duplicated - depends on centromeres. Located in the little pinched waist of each chromosome, centromeres control the movements that separate sister chromosomes when cells divide ensuring that each daughter cell inherits a complete copy of each chromosome. It has long been known that centromeres are not formed solely from DNA; rather, centromere proteins (CENPs) facilitate the assembly of a centromere on each chromosome. ...

Rating hospital quality means asking the right questions, experts say

2011-06-15
With an increased emphasis on grading hospitals and a push to withhold payments from hospitals who don't meet certain standards, two Johns Hopkins researchers argue that more attention needs to be paid to the quality of the measurement tools used to praise and punish. The science of outcomes reporting is young and lags behind the desire to publically report adverse medical outcomes, write Elliott R. Haut, M.D., an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Peter J. Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D., a Johns Hopkins professor of anesthesiology ...

Number of paid malpractice claims similar between inpatient and outpatient settings

2011-06-15
In an examination of trends of malpractice claims, there has been a greater decline in the rate of paid claims for inpatient settings than outpatient settings, and in 2009, the number of malpractice claims for events resulting in paid malpractice claims in outpatient and inpatient settings were similar, according to a study in the June 15 issue of JAMA. Much attention has been given to patient safety, but most initiatives have centered around inpatient care. "For example, in the past 5 years, the number of studies funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ...

Extensive TV watching linked with increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, CVD and all-cause death

2011-06-15
In an analysis of data from several studies, watching television for 2-3 hours per day or more was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular disease and all-cause death, according to a study in the June 15 issue of JAMA. Television (TV) viewing is the most commonly reported daily activity apart from working and sleeping in many populations around the world. In the United States, the average number of daily hours of TV viewing has recently been reported to be 5 hours. "Beyond altering energy expenditure by displacing time spent ...

Poorer outcomes linked with certain hormone for patients with early-stage chronic kidney disease

2011-06-15
Patients in the early stages of chronic kidney disease who had elevated levels of the endocrine hormone fibroblast growth factor 23 (that regulates phosphorus metabolism) had an associated increased risk of end-stage renal disease and death, according to a study in the June 15 issue of JAMA. Circulating levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) increase progressively as kidney function declines. A high level of FGF-23 is associated with mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease, but little is known about its relationship with adverse outcomes in the larger ...

Prolonged TV viewing linked to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease

2011-06-15
Boston, MA – Watching television is the most common daily activity apart from work and sleep in many parts of the world, but it is time for people to change their viewing habits. According to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers, prolonged TV viewing was associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and premature death. The study appears in the June 15, 2011, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "The message is simple. Cutting back on TV watching can significantly reduce risk of type ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Einstein Probe releases its Science White Paper

Music-based therapy may improve depressive symptoms in people with dementia

No evidence that substituting NHS doctors with physician associates is necessarily safe

At-home brain speed tests bridge cognitive data gaps

CRF appoints Josep Rodés-Cabau, M.D., Ph.D., as editor-in-chief of structural heart: the journal of the heart team

Violent crime is indeed a root cause of migration, according to new study

Customized smartphone app shows promise in preventing further cognitive decline among older adults diagnosed with mild impairment

Impact of COVID-19 on education not going away, UM study finds

School of Public Health researchers receive National Academies grant to assess environmental conditions in two Houston neighborhoods

Three Speculum articles recognized with prizes

ACM A.M. Turing Award honors two researchers who led the development of cornerstone AI technology

Incarcerated people are disproportionately impacted by climate change, CU doctors say

ESA 2025 Graduate Student Policy Award Cohort Named

Insomnia, lack of sleep linked to high blood pressure in teens

Heart & stroke risks vary among Asian American, Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander adults

Levels of select vitamins & minerals in pregnancy may be linked to lower midlife BP risk

Large study of dietary habits suggests more plant oils, less butter could lead to better health

Butter and plant-based oils intake and mortality

20% of butterflies in the U.S. have disappeared since 2000

Bacterial ‘jumping genes’ can target and control chromosome ends

Scientists identify genes that make humans and Labradors more likely to become obese

Early-life gut microbes may protect against diabetes, research in mice suggests

Study raises the possibility of a country without butterflies

Study reveals obesity gene in dogs that is relevant to human obesity studies

A rapid decline in US butterfly populations

Indigenous farming practices have shaped manioc’s genetic diversity for millennia

Controlling electrons in molecules at ultrafast timescales

Tropical forests in the Americas are struggling to keep pace with climate change

Brain mapping unlocks key Alzheimer’s insights

Clinical trial tests novel stem-cell treatment for Parkinson’s disease

[Press-News.org] HAART effective for treating HIV-infected children living in DRC