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Information regarding the prevalence of mental illness and substance use among HIV-infected patients and the effect of these problems on HIV treatment is needed. We conducted an observational study of patients in the University of Washington (UW) HIV Cohort to determine prevalence rates for mental illness and substance use. Cox regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between mental illness and substance use, pharmacologic treatment for depression/anxiety, and initiation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) within 9 months of becoming eligible for HAART. Among 1774 patients in the UW HIV cohort during 2004, 63% had a mental illness (including mood, anxiety, psychotic, or personality disorders), 45% had a substance use disorder, and 38% had both. There were 278 patients who met criteria for HAART eligibility. After controlling for other factors, patients with depression and/or anxiety were significantly less likely to initiate HAART compared with patients without a mental illness (hazard ratio [HR] 0.4, p = 0.02). However, patients with depression/anxiety who received antidepressant/antianxiety medications were equally likely to initiate HAART as patients without a mental illness (HR 0.9, p = 0.5). We found that patients with mental illness or substance use disorders receive HAART at lower CD4+ cell counts and higher HIV-1 RNA levels than patients without these disorders. However, HAART initiation among patients who receive treatment for depression/anxiety is associated with no delay. Screening for these disorders in primary care settings and access to appropriate treatment are increasingly important components of providing care to HIV-infected patients.

The decay of HIV-1 infected cell populations after treatment with antiretroviral therapy is measured using simple exponential decay models. It is concluded that long-term viral dynamics of HIV infection based on simple exponential decay models should be carefully re-evaluated.

A comparison is made between the hypothetical and actual willingness of a participant to enroll in a preventive HIV vaccine trial, and the factors affecting the enrollment are studied. The barriers for enrollment that was experienced by the racial ethnic groups and African Americans consisted of their concerns regarding vaccine induced seropositivity and their mistrust of the safety measures.

Many women at high risk of HIV engage in anal sex, which increases their risk even more. In a study of 1,268 sexually active women, 32% had engaged in anal sex in the previous six months. These women were more likely than others to have unprotected vaginal sex.

Typically during human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, a nearly homogeneous viral population first emerges and then diversifies over time due to selective forces that are poorly understood. To identify these forces, we conducted an intensive longitudinal study of viral genetic changes and T-cell immunity in one subject at =17 time points during his first 3 years of infection, and in his infecting partner near the time of transmission. Autologous peptides covering amino acid sites inferred to be under positive selection were powerful for identifying HIV-1-specific cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte (CTL) epitopes. Positive selection and mutations resulting in escape from CTLs occurred across the viral proteome. We detected 25 CTL epitopes, including 14 previously unreported. Seven new epitopes mapped to the viral Env protein, emphasizing Env as a major target of CTLs. One-third of the selected sites were associated with epitopic mutational escapes from CTLs. Most of these resulted from replacement with amino acids found at low database frequency. Another one-third represented acquisition of amino acids found at high database frequency, suggesting potential reversions of CTL epitopic sites recognized by the immune system of the transmitting partner and mutation toward improved viral fitness in the absence of immune targeting within the recipient. A majority of the remaining selected sites occurred in the envelope protein and may have been subjected to humoral immune selection. Hence, a majority of the amino acids undergoing selection in this subject appeared to result from fitness-balanced CTL selection, confirming CTLs as a dominant selective force in HIV-1 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: HIV-1 shedding from the female genital tract is associated with increased sexual and perinatal transmission and has been broadly evaluated in cross-sectional studies. However, few longitudinal studies have evaluated how the immune microenvironment effects shedding., Methods: Thirty-nine HIV-1-infected women had blood, cervicovaginal lavage, and biopsies of the uterine cervix taken quarterly for up to 5 years. Cytokines/chemokines were quantified by Luminex assay in cervicovaginal lavage, and cellular phenotypes were characterized using immunohistochemistry in cervical biopsies. Comparisons of cytokine/chemokine concentrations and the percent of tissue staining positive for T cells were compared using generalized estimating equations between non-shedding and shedding visits across all women and within a subgroup of women who intermittently shed HIV-1., Results: Genital HIV-1 shedding was more common when plasma HIV-1 was detected. Cytokines associated with cell growth (interleukin-7), Th1 cells/inflammation (interleukin-12p70), and fractalkine were significantly increased at shedding visits compared with non-shedding visits within intermittent shedders and across all subjects. Within intermittent shedders and across all subjects, FOXP3 T cells were significantly decreased at shedding visits. However, there were significant increases in CD8 cells and proportions of CD8FOXP3 T cells associated with HIV-1 shedding., Conclusions: Within intermittent HIV-1 shedders, decreases in FOXP3 T cells at the shedding visit suggests that local HIV-1 replication leads to CD4 T-cell depletion, with increases in the proportion of CD8FOXP3 cells. HIV-1-infected cell loss may promote a cytokine milieu that maintains cellular homeostasis and increases immune suppressor cells in response to HIV-1 replication in the cervical tissues.

In El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, we recruited 2466 female sex workers (FSWs) by probabilistic or comprehensive sampling and 1418 men who have sex with men (MSM) by convenience sampling to measure sociobehavioral risk and sexually transmitted infections. For MSM, HIV seroprevalence ranged from 7.6% in Nicaragua to 15.3% in El Salvador, and estimated HIV seroincidence per 100 person-years ranged from 2.7 in Panama to 14.4 in Nicaragua; 61% reported using condoms consistently with casual male partners, 29% reported exposure to behavioral interventions, and 22% reported recent sex with male and female partners. For FSWs, HIV seroprevalence ranged from 0.2% in Nicaragua and Panama to 9.6% in Honduras, where estimated HIV seroincidence was also highest (3.2 per 100 person-years); 77% and 72% of FSWs reported using condoms consistently with new and regular clients. Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 seroprevalence averaged 85.3% in FSWs and 48.2% in MSM, and syphilis seropositivity averaged 9.6% in FSWs and 8.3% in MSM. Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae prevalences in FSWs averaged 20.1% and 8.1%, and Trichomonas vaginalis and bacterial vaginosis prevalences averaged 11.0% and 54.8%. An ongoing HIV epidemic involves Central American MSM with potential bridging to women. In FSWs, HSV-2 infection was associated with HIV infection (odds ratio = 11.0, 95% confidence interval: 2.9 to 7.9). For these vulnerable populations, prevention must incorporate acceptable and effective sexual health services, including improved condom access and promotion.