Persistent Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 (HTLV-1) Infection in the Placenta of Pregnant Women.

Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) is the primary route of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection. Although formula feeding reduces breastfeeding-associated transmission, MTCT still occurs, implicating pregnancy or delivery as key transmission windows. In this study, placental tissues from nine HTLV-1-positive mothers were analyzed using DNA/RNAscope, revealing low HTLV-1 DNA and RNA levels and a low RNA/DNA ratio, consistent with latent infection in the placenta and potentially explaining the low MTCT rate.

Incomplete recovery of the CD4+/CD8+ ratio is associated with the late introduction of antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV infection.

Despite being subject to lower AIDS-related mortality rates and having a higher life expectancy, patients with HIV are more prone to develop non-AIDS events. A low CD4+/CD8+ ratio during antiretroviral therapy identifies people with heightened immune senescence and increased risk of mortality. In clinical practice, finding determinants of a low CD4+/CD8+ ratio may be useful for identifying patients who require close monitoring due to an increased risk of comorbidities and death.

Can Persistent Infections with Hepatitis B Virus, Hepatitis C Virus, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, and Human T Lymphotropic Virus Type 1 Be Eradicated?

Persistent viruses are hard to be eradicated, even using effective medications, and can persist for a long time in humans, sometimes regardless of treatment. Hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and human T cell lymphotropic virus infections, the most common in our era, are still a challenge despite the increased knowledge about their biology. Most of them are highly pathogenic, some causing acute disease or, more often, leading to chronic persistent infections, and some of the occult, carrying a high risk of morbidity and mortality.

Could Cesarean Delivery Help Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of Human T-Lymphotropic Virus Type 1?

Background: Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is an important route of transmission that can cause lifelong infection. There is high morbidity and mortality due to adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (HAM), and other inflammatory disorders. These conditions develop in nearly 10% of people with HTLV-1 infection, with a higher risk if infection occurs early in life.

The role of IFN-γ production during retroviral infections: an important cytokine involved in chronic inflammation and pathogenesis.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) plays a crucial role in viral infections by preventing viral replication and in the promotion of innate and adaptive immune responses. However, IFN-gamma can exert distinct effects in different persistent viral infections. The long-term overproduction of IFN-γ in retroviral infections, such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), and human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs), resulting in inflammation, may cause neuronal damage.

SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19: Clinical Course Among Subjects HIV-1-Infected in Sao Paulo.

Introduction: People living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are under risk for co-infection with SARS-CoV-2. This population may be more prone to complications from COVID-19 due to persistent inflammation caused by HIV and higher incidence of metabolic syndromes, cardiovascular diseases, and malignancies, as well as being considered elderly at 50 years of age. The objective of this study was to report SARS-CoV-2 infection frequency, clinical evolution, and mortality in HIV-positive patients on antiretroviral therapy.

Prognosis Markers for Monitoring HTLV-1 Neurologic Disease.

Background: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection is associated not only with some severe manifestations, such as HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (HAM) and ATLL, but also with other, less severe conditions. Some studies have reported neurologic manifestations that did not meet all the criteria for the diagnosis of HAM in individuals infected with HTLV-1; these conditions may later progress to HAM or constitute an intermediate clinical form, between asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers and those with full myelopathy. This study evaluated the prognostic value and looked for a possible association of those parameters with the intermediate syndrome (IS) status and HAM status.

Cytokine Networks Dysregulation during HTLV-1 Infection and Associated Diseases.

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the causative agent of a neural chronic inflammation, called HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and of a malignant lymphoproliferation, called the adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). The mechanisms through which the HTLV-1 induces these diseases are still unclear, but they might rely on immune alterations. HAM/TSP is associated with an impaired production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as IFN-γ, TNF-α, CXCL9, or CXCL10.

Pneumonia mortality in Brazilian children aged 4 years and younger.

Objective: To evaluate the trend of pneumonia mortality in Brazilian children aged 4 years and younger from 1991 to 2007.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study based on the database of the IT Department of the Brazilian Unified Health System (DATASUS), from which we obtained the number of deaths from pneumonia and the population aged 4 years and younger living in the five Brazilian regions and in the whole country. Mortality rate was calculated according to the number of deaths from pneumonia divided by the population, multiplied by 1,000 for the age group under 1 year old and by 10,000 in the age group from 1 to 4 years.