Positive, negative, unknown: assumptions of HIV status among HIV-positive men who have sex with men.

Serosorting (i.e., engaging in unprotected sex with partners known to be of the same serostatus) can be a difficult process for men who have sex with men (MSM) who frequently make assumptions about their partners' serostatus. This process can be further complicated by a partner's dishonesty as well as other individual and contextual factors. The present study specifically examined how assumptions of serostatus made about unknown serostatus partners impact on the sexual behavior of 110 alcohol-abusing HIV-positive MSM. Although previous research has shown that HIV-positive MSM are more likely to serosort with other known HIV-positive men than with known HIV-negative men, our data suggest that unprotected sex behavior may not be specifically driven by whether or not they made assumptions of seroconcordance or serodiscordance. The types of assumptions these HIV-positive MSM made about their unknown status sexual partners and the basis for such assumptions were also examined. Owing to the ambiguities involved in assumptions of a partner's serostatus in sexual encounters, the 'unknown status' partner category is analytically distinct from 'known status' categories, and needs to be more fully explored because of its impact on perceived serosorting, rather than actual serosorting, among HIV-positive men.     

Acute resynchronization with inhaled iloprost in a pregnant woman with idiopathic pulmonary artery hypertension.

We describe the case of a pregnant woman with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension, a responder in right heart catheterization, followed since the first trimester in outpatient consultations, admitted to hospital at 23 weeks gestation. She was treated with inhaled iloprost until delivery (at 34 weeks gestation) and continuous infusion of iloprost throughout the perioperative period and following days. This line of therapy has proved efficacious in previous cases. The authors present echocardiographic images that document acute changes in ventricular synchrony during inhalation of iloprost.     

Recurrent venous thrombosis following free flap surgery: The role of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia

Complications following free tissue transfer have been well established in the literature. Common and rare causes of free flap failure must be addressed by the treating surgeon when microvascular patency is threatened. With the evolution and prevalence of microsurgery, ‘rare’ causes of free flap failure will become increasingly frequent. A high index of suspicion must be established in patients with multiple failed operative interventions. A case of recurrent free flap failure secondary to heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is presented in a patient with a history of squamous cell carcinoma of the floor of the mouth, and a long-standing history of alcohol and tobacco consumption.     

Bioimpedance analysis highlights changes in body composition at the early stages of impairment of kidney transplant function.

OBJECTIVE: Kidney transplantation restores renal filtration, although it does not achieve the function of 2 native kidneys, and with time it may involute back to chronic renal failure. We hypothesized that bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) might highlight differences for body compartments among kidney transplants (Tx) with different filtration rates. METHODS: Thirty transplantation patients (19 male, 11 female) were studied at 62.4+/-26.6 months postsurgery and were divided into 3 groups: good creatinine clearance (crCl, mL/min/1.73 m2; >65.0), borderline (35.0相似文献   

Glucose Concentrations in Peritoneal Dialysate in the United States and Europe

Articles on CAPD from Europe frequently refer to dialysis fluid that is 1.36% and 3.86% glucose rather than the 1.5% and 4.25% solutions used in the United States. Are different dialysis fluids used on either side of the Atlantic or is there another explanation for this apparent difference?     

Antioxidant and glutathione-related enzymatic activities in rat sciatic nerve

The present work tries to establish the antioxidant capacity of the peripheral nervous tissue of the rat, in terms of the enzymatic activities present in this tissue that either prevent the formation of activated species as the semiquinone radical (DT-diaphorase), protect against activated oxygen species (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase), conjugate natural toxic products or xenobiotics (glutathione S-transferases, especially the activity conjugating 4-hydroxy-nonenal), or complete the glutathione system metabolism (glutathione disulfide reductase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase). All the activities studied are lower in this tissue than they are in liver, except for γ-glutamyl transpeptidase. The relevance of the results obtained and its possible relationship with different neuropathies is discussed. It is concluded that the peripheral nervous tissue is by far less protected than the liver against oxidative damage.     

Quantitative analysis of basal dendrites of prefrontal pyramidal cells after chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal in the adult rat

The effects of chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal on the organization of the basal dendrites of layer III pyramidal cells of the prelimbic cortex were studied in groups of rats fed on alcohol for 6 or 18 months, and in a group fed for 12 months, then switched to water for a further 6 months (withdrawal group). Three-dimensional analysis of the dendritic arborizations showed an age-dependent increase in several dendritic parameters, but a net stability was found in the metrical parameters between alcohol-fed and respective control rats. Conversely, a dendritic impoverishment occurred in the withdrawal group. The linear density of dendritic spines remained stable in all groups studied. Together with the previously found marked loss of the neurons after alcohol consumption and withdrawal, these findings point to a decrease in the available targets for afferents and therefore to the presence of probable functional alterations as a consequence of those in the connectivity patterns of the prelimbic area occurring under these conditions.