Lancet
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10 patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), AIDS-related complex (ARC), or lymphadenopathy syndrome (LAS) were given 200-250 mg ampligen, a mismatched double-stranded (ds) RNA with in-vitro antiviral activity against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), twice a week for up to 18 weeks, without side-effects or toxicity. In all 9 patients who were positive for HIV RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells before therapy, levels became undetectable between days 10 and 40 of the start of therapy. 6 of the 7 patients with ARC or LAS also showed a progressive reduction in HIV load as measured by co-culture assays. ⋯ Other changes noted during ampligen therapy included an increase in or maintenance of numbers of helper-inducer T lymphocytes, improvements in HIV-related symptoms, rises in titre of neutralising antibodies against HIV, and restoration of proper functioning of the natural lymphocyte antiviral dsRNA-dependent (2'-5'-oligoadenylate/RNA-ase L) pathway. Thus, in the short term, ampligen seems to have the dual ability to restore immunological function and to control HIV replication.
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Comparative Study
Trends in mortality from cervical cancer in the Nordic countries: association with organised screening programmes.
Time trends in mortality from cervical cancer in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden since the early 1950s were investigated in relation to the extent and intensity of organised screening programmes in these countries. In all five countries the cumulative mortality rates (0-74 years) fell between 1965 and 1982. ⋯ In Denmark, where about 40% of the population are covered by organised programmes, the overall mortality fell by 25%, but in Norway, with only 5% of the population covered by organised screening, the mortality fell by only 10%. The results support the conclusion that organised screening programmes have had a major impact on the reduction in mortality from cervical cancer in the Nordic countries.
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To determine the risk factors for Yersinia enterocolitica (YE) infection in Belgium, which is the country with the highest incidence of this infection, 40 persons with YE infections due to serotype O:3 (n = 36) or O:9 (n = 4) were compared with matched controls. Most patients had acute gastroenteritis; 1 had a liver abscess. 20% were admitted to hospital; the mean duration of hospital stay was 9 days. YE infection was strongly associated with eating raw pork in the 2 weeks before onset (odds ratio = 12, p = 0.00002), a factor that accounted for 58% of the YE infections studied. 14 (18%) of 79 families surveyed at a well-baby clinic fed their children raw pork from a median age of 18 months. Specific control measures to reduce contamination and consumption of raw pork may reduce the incidence of YE infections.