9 research outputs found
Proteomics to improve serodiagnosis of Brucellosis
No full textBrucellosis still causes a public health impact and economic losses in animal husbandry in Mediterranean area also if it is eradicated in most of developed Countries. The design of adequate strategies for preventing animal brucellosis and consequently human disease requires in-depth knowledge of different strains that are circulating. Moreover, the occurrence of false positive reactions in the serological tests available currently reduces their specificity [1]. Furthermore, the mass vaccination policy using Rev.1 vaccine, in many endemic areas of the Mediterranean with the aim of controlling/reducing disease prevalence in small ruminants, interfere with serological diagnosis of the disease. Since the 'perfect antigen' has not been developed yet, it is useful to make comparative proteomics characterization of of Brucella spp to set to obtained proteins that could permit to develop rapid diagnostic test. We analyze three strains of Brucella melitensis coming from library of National Reference Laboratory of Brucellosis (IZSAM- Teramo ITALY) in three technical replicates for each strain used a combined methods of bead beating and solubilization [2]. After 2D electrophoresis, image analysis was performed with Progenesis same spots and proteins were analyzed with MALDI-TOF/MS. Combined methods of extraction physical plus chemical were able to resolve huge numbers of proteins that can be used to set up immune-proteomics analysis to improve and complete serodiagnosis of brucellosis
Work supported by BrucMedNet- ARIMNet2 - Coordination of Agricultural Research in the Mediterranean-Grant agreement no. 618127.
* Corresponding author: Paola Roncada, PhD.
Istituto Sperimentale Italiano Lazzaro Spallanzani, Milano
Phone.: +39 0250318138
E-mail address: [email protected]
References:
[1] Di Febo T, Luciani M, Portanti O, Bonfini B, Lelli R, Tittarelli M Development and evaluation of diagnostic tests for the serological diagnosis of brucellosis in swine. Vet Ital. 2012 Apr-Jun;48(2):133-56.
[2] Piras C, Soggiu A, Bonizzi L, Greco V, Ricchi M, Arrigoni N, Bassols A, Urbani A, Roncada P.Identification of immunoreactive protein
Implications of undiagnosed cognitive impairments in people with a history of substance abuse seeking vocational rehabilitation
No full textIncludes bibliographical references
Author Correction: A consensus protocol for functional connectivity analysis in the rat brain.
No full textAuthor Correction: A consensus protocol for functional connectivity analysis in the rat brain
No full text
Burden of HIV infection and HIV-associated morbidity in Zimbabwean adolescents
No full textThis thesis concerns the clinical epidemiology of HIV infection in Zimbabwean adolescents. Without treatment, there is a very high risk of death in the early years of life in HIV-infected infants. However, in recent years increasing numbers of adolescents have been presenting to health care services with symptomatic HIV infection and with features suggesting longstanding disease. Population-based surveys in Southern Africa have shown HIV prevalence rates among older children and adolescents to be much higher than would be anticipated if HIV-infants were not surviving early childhood. The burden and spectrum of HIV-associated morbidity among adolescents was investigated with two studies at secondary and primary care level, respectively. The main finding was of an extremely high prevalence of HIV infection at both levels of the health system, with HIV infection being the single most common cause of hospital admission and death among adolescents. Mother-to-child transmission was the most likely source of HIV infection in the majority, suggesting a substantial epidemic of older survivors of vertical HIV infection. Other countries with severe HIV epidemics may be experiencing a similar trend as their HIV epidemics mature. The lack of awareness of the possibility of survival to older childhood and adolescence with maternally-acquired, untreated HIV infection results in many missed opportunities for diagnosis, with HIV infection frequently not diagnosed until presentation with a severe HIV-related illness. The median CD4 count in 3 HIV-infected adolescents in primary care was 350cells/µl compared to a median CD4 count of 151cells/µl among hospitalised adolescents, suggesting that HIV testing in primary care identifies HIV-infected adolescents at an earlier stage of infection. Provider-initiated HIV testing and counselling in primary care was highly acceptable to adolescents and guardians. Provision of care has been adversely affected by under-appreciation of the numbers of surviving adolescents living with HIV, and the special needs of this age-group have not been distinguished from those of younger children. Young people who have acquired HIV perinatally are stigmatised by society who assume they must have acquired it through "bad" behaviour themselves, since it is not widely appreciated that long-term survival following vertical infection is possible. Immediate priorities are earlier diagnosis of HIV infection and improved management of HIV-infected adolescents. Possible areas of intervention are discussed in the final chapter. Similar studies are needed in neighbouring countries to investigate the generalisability of these findings
Outcomes for efavirenz versus nevirapine-containing regimens for treatment of HIV-1 infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
No full textINTRODUCTION: There is conflicting evidence and practice regarding the use of the non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) efavirenz (EFV) and nevirapine (NVP) in first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART). METHODS: We systematically reviewed virological outcomes in HIV-1 infected, treatment-naive patients on regimens containing EFV versus NVP from randomised trials and observational cohort studies. Data sources include PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and conference proceedings of the International AIDS Society, Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, between 1996 to May 2013. Relative risks (RR) and 95% confidence intervals were synthesized using random-effects meta-analysis. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I(2) statistic, and subgroup analyses performed to assess the potential influence of study design, duration of follow up, location, and tuberculosis treatment. Sensitivity analyses explored the potential influence of different dosages of NVP and different viral load thresholds. RESULTS: Of 5011 citations retrieved, 38 reports of studies comprising 114 391 patients were included for review. EFV was significantly less likely than NVP to lead to virologic failure in both trials (RR 0.85 [0.73-0.99] I(2) = 0%) and observational studies (RR 0.65 [0.59-0.71] I(2) = 54%). EFV was more likely to achieve virologic success than NVP, though marginally significant, in both randomised controlled trials (RR 1.04 [1.00-1.08] I(2) = 0%) and observational studies (RR 1.06 [1.00-1.12] I(2) = 68%). CONCLUSION: EFV-based first line ART is significantly less likely to lead to virologic failure compared to NVP-based ART. This finding supports the use of EFV as the preferred NNRTI in first-line treatment regimen for HIV treatment, particularly in resource limited settings
