Late-stage diagnosis of HIV infection in Brazilian children: evidence from two national cohort studies

[AIDS in children: the influence of socioeconomic differences in Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil]

This study aimed to analyze the relationship between pediatric AIDS cases and neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics in Fortaleza, Ceará State, Brazil. This was an ecological and descriptive study with socioeconomic data from the 2010 Population Census and AIDS data in children for 2001-2011 from the Information System on Notifiable Diseases. Pearson's correlation was performed and the Moran index was used to verify spatial autocorrelation. A multinomial model was used to identify clusters. Of the total sample, 57.8% were male. In 18.8% of the children, the diagnosis was made after two years of age. There was a positive spatial correlation between AIDS cases in children and income (I = 0.6; p = 0.001) and the proportion of poor (I = 0.5; p = 0.001). Neighborhoods with these characteristics are mainly located in the Northwest and Southwest areas of the city. Spatial correlation between pediatric AIDS cases and socioeconomic indicators highlights the need for interventions aimed at improving health and living conditions.

Association of the HLA-B*52 allele with non-progression to AIDS in Brazilian HIV-1-infected individuals

Several human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I alleles are associated with the susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection and/or AIDS progression. Of these, the HLA-B alleles are considered the strongest genetic determinant of disease outcome. We evaluated the influence of the HLA-B alleles on AIDS progression among HIV-1-positive individuals from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, who were categorized as rapid progressors (RPs), typical progressors (TPs) or long-term non-progressors (LTNPs). In this study, significant differences in HLA-B allele frequencies were observed among the three progression groups for the B*48, B*49 and B*52 alleles. After controlling for other factors associated with AIDS progression, the presence of the B*52 allele was shown to be a significant protective factor (hazard ratio (HR) 0.49 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.27-0.90) P<0.03). Although no direct association was observed between the presence of the B*27 or B*57 allele and the LTNP profile compared with the TP or RP groups, the adjusted model confirmed that these alleles are protective factors against AIDS progression (HR 0.62 (95% CI 0.38-0.99) P<0.05), as previously described. These data corroborate the existence of significant differences in HLA-B allele frequencies among the distinct AIDS progression profiles and further elucidate the role of HLA alleles in the outcome of HIV infections in diverse populations.

Terapia antirretroviral em crianças e adolescentes infectados pelo HIV: o que sabemos após 30 anos de epidemia

Este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar o uso da terapia antirretroviral combinada em crianças e adolescentes com AIDS. Foram captados 247 resumos nos portais PubMed e LILACS, publicados entre 1983 e 2013, sendo utilizados 69 artigos para as referências bibliográficas. A atenção atribuída às pesquisas na faixa etária pediátrica durante os trinta anos de epidemia de AIDS se justifica por características imunológicas próprias, sendo a progressão da AIDS mais rápida em crianças que em adultos. Pesquisas recentes abordam estratégias de intervenção medicamentosa de alta potência antes do aparecimento dos sintomas iniciais. A introdução precoce da terapia antirretroviral combinada foi implantada com eficácia e segurança em populações com poucos recursos fixos, com melhora significativa da sobrevida desses pacientes. O desafio atual é lidar com uma doença crônica com intercorrências agudas. Novas pesquisas serão necessárias, atentando para as especificidades populacionais e particularizando as necessidades individuais dos pacientes pediátricos.