Increasing sexually transmitted infection rates in young men having sex with men in the Netherlands, 2006–2012

Background

Men having sex with men (MSM) remain the largest high-risk group involved in on-going transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV, in the Netherlands. As risk behaviour may change with age, it is important to explore potential heterogeneity in risks by age. To improve our understanding of this epidemic, we analysed the prevalence of and risk factors for selected STI in MSM attending STI clinics in the Netherlands by age group.

Methods

Analysis of data from the national STI surveillance system for the period 2006–2012. Selected STI were chlamydia, gonorrhoea, infectious syphilis and/or a new HIV infection. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with these selected STI and with overall STI positivity. Analyses were done separately for MSM aged younger than 25 years and MSM aged 25 years and older.

Results

In young MSM a significant increase in positivity rate was seen over time (p?<?0.01), mainly driven by increasing gonorrhoea diagnoses, while in MSM aged 25 and older a significant decrease was observed (p?<?0.01). In multivariate analyses for young MSM, those who were involved in commercial sex were at higher risk (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.2-1.9). For MSM aged 25 years and older this was not the case. Having a previous negative HIV test was protective among older MSM compared to those not tested for HIV before (OR: 0.8, 95% CI: 0.8-0.8), but not among younger MSM.

Conclusions

MSM visiting STI clinics remain a high-risk group for STI infections and transmission, but are not a homogenous group. While in MSM aged older than 25 years, STI positivity rate is decreasing, positivity rate in young MSM increased over time. Therefore specific attention needs to be paid towards targeted counselling and reaching particular MSM sub-groups, taken into account different behavioural profiles.

     

Autoantibody against erythrocyte protein 4.1 in a patient with autoimmune hemolytic anemia

We observed the presence of a new autoantibody, anti-erythrocyte protein 4.1, in a patient with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). Western blotting analysis revealed that IgG from the patient's plasma reacted with erythrocyte protein 4.1. However, among other patients with hemolytic diseases (six having AIHA and three each having either hereditary spherocytosis, elliptocytosis, or lead poisoning) as well as among control subjects, no antibody activity to protein 4.1 was observed. In addition to the anti-protein 4.1 antibody, two different kinds of anti-erythrocyte antibodies were detected by conventional serological studies in this patient. One of them was an anti-Ena-like antibody in the eluate from the patient's erythrocytes, while another was the anti-S-specific antibody in the plasma. An elution study and an absorption study using S antigen-positive erythrocytes demonstrated that the anti-protein 4.1 antibody differed from both the anti-Ena-like antibody and the anti-S antibody. Familial analysis of the patient revealed the same antibody in her brother, who did not have hemolytic anemia. These results demonstrate that anti-protein 4.1 antibody is considered to be included in the spectrum of anti-cytoskeleton autoantibodies, which have been observed in patients having increased cell lysis as well as in healthy subjects.     

Differential response to compressive loads of zones of canine hyaline articular cartilage: micromechanical, light and electron microscopic studies.

Thin (100 micron) perpendicular slices of canine femoral condylar cartilage were placed horizontally on the stage of a Nachet microscope and viewed by transmitted light in the differential interference contrast mode. Each slice was held on the microscope stage by a loading rig and tested mechanically in compression. Measured loads to a maximum of approximately 2-3 MN/m2 were applied to the end of the slice corresponding to the articular surface. Photographs were taken of the cartilage before and during loading, and the distance by which selected chondrocytes were displaced was used as an index of mechanical strain, i.e., of change in length/original length. Maximum strains were observed in the superficial cartilage zone. Minimum strains were recorded in the mid-zone, at a depth corresponding to approximately 75% of the total cartilage thickness. The relative concentrations of cartilage collagen (COL) and proteoglycan (PG) were assessed by the light and electron microscopic histochemical study of cartilage sections taken from contiguous blocks. Superficial cartilage, which deformed most, had high concentrations of oriented COL fibres, low concentrations of PG. Mid-zone cartilage, which deformed least, had lower concentrations of randomly arrayed COL fibres but relatively high concentrations of PG.     

Genetic marking shows that Ph+ cells present in autologous transplants of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) contribute to relapse after autologous bone marrow in CML

Relapse after autologous bone marrow transplantation for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) can be due either to the persistence of leukemia cells in systemic tissues following preparative therapy, or due to the persistence of leukemia cells in the autologous marrow used to restore marrow function after intensive therapy. To help distinguish between these two possible causes of relapse, we used safety-modified retroviruses, which contain the bacterial resistance gene NEO, to mark autologous marrow cells that had been collected from patients early in the phase of hematopoietic recovery after in vivo chemotherapy. The cells were then subjected to ex vivo CD34 selection following collection and 30% of the bone marrow were exposed to a safety-modified virus. This marrow was infused after delivery of systemic therapy, which consisted of total body irradiation (1,020 cGy), cyclophosphamide (120 mg/kg), and VP-16 (750 mg/m2). RT PCR assays specific for the bacterial NEO mRNA, which was coded for by the virus, and the bcr-abl mRNA showed that in two evaluable CML patients transplanted with marked cells, sufficient numbers of leukemia cells remained in the infused marrow to contribute to systemic relapse. In addition, both normal and leukemic cells positive for the retroviral transgenome persisted in the systemic circulation of the patients for at least 280 days posttransplant showing that the infused marrow was responsible for the return of hematopoiesis following the preparative therapy. This observation shows that it is possible to use a replication-incompetent safety-modified retrovirus in order to introduce DNA sequences into the hematopoietic cells of patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation. Moreover, this data suggested that additional fractionation procedures will be necessary to reduce the probability of relapse after bone marrow transplantation in at least the advanced stages of the disease in CML patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation procedures.     

Good practice in social care: the views of people with severe and complex needs and those who support them

This paper reports findings drawn from a study of good practice in English social care for adults with disability and older people with severe and complex needs. People with severe and complex needs are a relatively small proportion of adult social care service users, but they are growing in numbers and have resource‐intensive needs. The study involved qualitative research with adults with disability and older people with severe and complex needs, family carers and members of specialist organisations (n = 67), focusing on the features of social care services they considered to be good practice. Data were collected between August 2010 and June 2011. The approach to data collection was flexible, to accommodate participants' communication needs and preferences, including face‐to‐face and telephone interviews, Talking Mats^© sessions and a focus group. Data were managed using Framework and analysed thematically. Features of good practice were considered at three levels: (i) everyday support; (ii) service organisation; and (iii) commissioning. Findings relating to the first two of these are presented here. Participants emphasised the importance of person‐centred ways of working at all levels. Personalisation, as currently implemented in English social care, aims to shift power from professionals to service users through the allocation of personal budgets. This approach focuses very much on the role of the individual in directing his/her own support arrangements. However, participants in this study also stressed the importance of ongoing professional support, for example, from a specialist key worker or case manager to co‐ordinate diverse services and ensure good practice at an organisational level. The paper argues that, despite the recent move to shift power from professionals to service users, people with the most complex needs still value support from professionals and appropriate organisational support. Without these, they risk being excluded from the benefits that personalisation, properly supported, could yield.