A Cascade Analysis of Community Transmission Risks for HIV among People Who Inject Drugs Living with HIV in Iran

There are 22 times as many people living with HIV in the population of drug users as in the general population.This is because the injection and sexually risky behaviors prevalent in this population.Having multiple sexual partners and maintaining sexual networks with people who inject drugs (PWIDs),can increase the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection^([1]).More than 65%of all HIVrelated cases in Iran can be traced back to people who inject drugs (PWID),and the number is estimated to be between 200,000 and 230,000 in Iran overall.Effective prevention,resources allocation and monitoring require an accurate estimate of the population of people who use illicit drugs^([2]).

HIV-1 Transmission among Injecting Drug Users is Principally Derived from Local Circulating Strains in Guangxi, China

Objective The mode of human immunodeficiency virus(HIV) transmission via injection drug use(IDU)still exists, and the recent shift in IDU-related transmission of HIV infection is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to analyze the spatiotemporal sources and dynamics of HIV-1 transmission through IDU in Guangxi.Methods We performed a molecular epidemiological investigation of infections across Guangxi from2009 to 2019. Phylogenetic and Bayesian time-geographic analyses of HIV-1 sequences were performed to confirm the characteristics of transmission between IDUs in combination with epidemiological data.Results Among the 535 subjects, CRF08_BC(57.4%), CRF01_AE(28.4%), and CRF07_BC(10.7%) were the top 3 HIV strains;72.6% of infections were linked to other provinces in the transmission network;93.6% of sequence-transmitted strains were locally endemic, with the rest coming from other provinces,predominantly Guangdong and Yunnan;92.1% of the HIV transmission among people who inject drugs tended to be transmitted between HIV-positive IDUs.Conclusion HIV recombinants were high diversity, and circulating local strains were the transmission sources among IDUs in Guangxi. However, there were still cases of IDUs linked to other provinces.Coverage of traditional prevention strategies should be expanded, and inter-provincial collaboration between Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guangdong provinces should be strengthened.

Hepatitis C virus control among persons who inject drugs requires overcoming barriers to care

Despite a high prevalence of hepatitis C virus(HCV)infection,the vast majority of persons who inject drugs(PWID)have not engaged in HCV care due to a large number of obstacles.Education about the infection among both PWID and providers remains an important challenge as does discrimination faced by PWID in conventional health care settings.Many providers also remain hesitant to prescribe antiviral therapy due to concerns about adherence and relapse to drug use resulting in reinfection.Presently,however,as a result of improvements in treatment efficacy combined with professional society and government endorsement of HCV treatment for PWID,a pressing need exists to develop strategies to engage these individuals into HCV care.In this article,we propose several strategies that can be pursued in an attempt to engage PWID into HCV management.We advocate that multidisciplinary approaches that utilize health care practitioners from a wide range of specialties,as well as co-localization of medical services,are strategies likely to result in increased numbers of PWID entering into HCV management.Pursuit of HCV therapy after stabilization through drug treatment is an additional strategy likely to increase PWID engagement into HCV care.The full impact of direct acting antivirals for HCV will only be realized if innovative approaches are pursued to engage all HCV infected individuals into treatment.

Preparation of Thermosensitive Chitosan Formulations Containing 5-Fluorouracil/Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate Microparticles Used as Injectable Drug Delivery System

The auto-gelling and drug release properties of the thermosensitive chitosan-β-glycerophosphate for- mulation were investigated. According to rheological study, gelation lag time of chitosan/β-glycerophosphate (GP) solutions varied from 2 to 60min with different deacetylation degree of chitosan, pH, gelation temperature, and the particles in the sol. The gelation properties were also found to influence the release profiles of a hydrophilic drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Morphological examination by scanning electron microphotography demonstrated that large “pores” occurred during the gel-forming process, which created hydrophilic environment and led to the rapid initial release of the drug (85% in first 8h). Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biodegradable material, was applied here as scaffold to capture 5-FU into microparticles with high encapsulation efficiency by solvent-nonsolvent method. Combination of these microparticles into the chitosan-β-GP formulation could drop the rapid initial release from 85% down to 29% in the optimized PHB content (75%, by mass). The release could sustain for about 10 months. This study provided an understanding of the potential of injectable implant using thermosensitive chitosan-β-GP formulation containing PHB based particles for the water soluble drugs that need the property of long-term delivery.

Hepatitis C virus/human T lymphotropic virus 1/2 coinfection:Regional burden and virological outcomes in people who inject drugs

This review analyses current data concerning co-infection with hepatitis C virus(HCV) and human T lymphotropic virus(HTLV)-1/2 in people who inject drugs(PWID), with a particular focus on disease burden and global implications for virological outcome. In addition, the available treatment options for HTLV-1/2 are summarized and the on-going and likely future research challenges are discussed. The data in this review was obtained from 34 articles on HCV/HTLV-1/2 co-infection in PWID retrieved from the Pub Med literature database and published between 1997 and 2015. Despite unavailable estimates of the burden of HCV/HTLV-1/2 co-infection in general, the epidemiologic constellation of HTLV-1/2 shows high incidence in PWID with history of migration, incarceration, and other blood-borne infectious diseases such as HCV or human immunodeficiency virus. The most recent research data strongly suggest that HTLV-1 co-infection can influence HCV viral load, HCV sustained virological response to α-interferon treatment, and HCV-related liver disease progression. In short, outcome of HCV infection is worse in the context of HTLV-1 co-infection, yet more studies are needed to gain accurate estimations of the burden of HCV/HTLV-1/2 co-infections. Moreover, in the current era of new direct-acting antiviral treatments for HCV and proven HTLV-1/2 treatment options, prospective clinical and treatment studies should be carried out, with particular focus on the PWID patient population, with the aim of improving virological outcomes.

Shenqi Fuzheng injection alleviates chemotherapy-induced cachexia by restoring glucocorticoid signaling in hypothalamus

Chemotherapy-induced cachexia(CIC)is a debilitating condition characterized by weight loss,muscle atrophy,and anorexia[1].While peripheral mechanisms of cachexia have been extensively studied,the involvement of the central nervous system(CNS)in CIC is often overlooked.Chemotherapeutic drugs cause stress responses and inflammation,which may impact the hypothalamus and disrupt systemic energy and neuroendocrine functions.Understanding hypothalamic roles in regulating these processes can provide insights into CIC's mechanisms and aid in developing novel therapies.

Tofacitinib combined with local low-dose ixekizumab injection benefits those with peripheral psoriatic arthritis

Dear Editor,Treating psoriatic arthritis(PsA)is always difficult.Systemic treatments can be administered either orally or through intramuscular and intra-articular injection,including conventional synthetics,biologics and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs[1].The alternatives,topical external therapies,are not effective on joint lesions due to drug permeability issues.Drugs injected into the articular cavity are also unsuitable for small peripheral joint lesions,the most common manifestations of PsA.The limited treatment options for PsA present a challenge.

Eligibility of persons who inject drugs for treatment of hepatitis C virus infection

In this decade, an increase is expected in end-stageliver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma, most commonly caused by hepatitis C virus(HCV) infection.Although people who inject drugs(PWID) are the ma-jor source for HCV infection, they were excluded fromantiviral treatments until recently. Nowadays there isincontrovertible evidence in favor of treating these patients, and substitution therapy and active substanceuse are no longer contraindications for antiviral treatment. The viral clearance in PWID after HCV antiviraltreatment with interferon or pegylated interferon combined with ribavirin is comparable to the viral clearancein non-substance users. Furthermore, multidisciplinary approaches to delivering treatment to PWID are advised, and their treatment should be considered on anindividualized basis. To prevent the spread of HCV inthe PWID community, recent active PWID are eligiblefor treatment in combination with needle exchange programs and substitution therapy. As the rate of HCV reinfection is low after HCV antiviral treatment, there is no need to withhold HCV treatment due to concerns about reinfection alone. Despite the advances in treatment efficacies and data supporting their success, HCV assessment of PWID and initiation of antiviral treatment remains low. However, the proportion of PWID assessed and treated for HCV is increasing, which can be further enhanced by understanding the barriers to and facilitators of HCV care. Removing stigmatization and implementing peer support and group treatment strategies, in conjunction with greater involvement by nurse educators/practitioners, will promote greater treatment seeking and adherence by PWID. Moreover, screening can be facilitated by noninvasive methods for detecting HCV antibodies and assessing liver fibrosis stages. Recently, HCV clearance has become a major endpoint in the war against drugs for the Global Commission on Drug Policy. This review highlights the most recent evidence concerning HCV infection and treatment strategies in PWID.

Injectable“cocktail”hydrogel with dual-stimuli-responsive drug release,photothermal ablation,and drug-antibody synergistic effect

The combination of the first-line standard chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin hydrochloride(DOX)and the molecular-targeted drug Herceptin(HCT)has emerged as a promising strategy for human epidermal growth receptor 2(HER-2)overexpressing breast cancer treatment.However,insufficient drug accumulation and severe cardiotoxicity are two major challenges that limit its clinical application.Herein,an in situ forming gold nanorods(AuNRs)-sodium alginate(ALG)hybrid hydrogel encapsulating DOX and HCT was engineered for tumor synergistic therapy involving injectable,dual-stimuli-responsive drug release,photothermal ablation,and drug-antibody synergistic therapy.The photothermal agent AuNRs,anticancer drug DOX,and anticancer antibody HCT were mixed in ALG solution,and after injection,the soluble ALG was quickly transformed into a hydrogel in the presence of Ca^(2+)in the body.Significantly,the hybrid hydrogel exhibits an extremely high photothermal conversion efficiency of 70%under 808 nm laser irradiation.The thermal effect can also provide photothermal stimulation to trigger the drug release from the gel matrix.In addition,the drug release rate and the releasing degree are also sensitive to the pH.In vitro studies demonstrated that the PEI-AuNR/DOX/HCT/ALG hydrogel has facilitated the therapeutic efficiency of each payload and demonstrated a strong synergistic killing effect on SK-BR-3 cells.In vivo imaging results showed that the local drug delivery system can effectively reduce the nonspecific distribution in normal tissues and increase drug concentration at tumor sites.The proposed hydrogel system shows significant clinical implications by easily introducing a sustainable photothermal therapy and a potential universal carrier for the local delivery of multiple drugs to overcome the challenges faced in HER-2 overexpressing cancer therapy.

Injection drug use and HIV/AIDS transmission in China

After nearly three decades of being virtually drug free, use of heroin and other illicit drugs has re-emerged in China as a major public health problem. One result is that drug abuse, particularly heroin injection, has come to play a predomi- nant role in fueling China’s AIDS epidemic. The first outbreak of HIV among China’s IDUs was reported in the border area of Yunnan province between China and Myanmar where drug trafficking is heavy. Since then drug-related HIV has spread to all 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. This paper provides an overview to HIV/AIDS transmission through injection drug use in China. It begins with a brief history of the illicit drug trade in China, followed by a discussion of the emergence of drug related AIDS, and a profile of drug users and their sexual partners who have contracted the virus or who are vulnerable to infection. It ends by summarizing three national strategies being used by China to address both drug use and AIDS as major health threats.

A mimic of soft tissue infection: intra-arterial injection drug use producing hand swelling and digital ischemia

BACKGROUND: Inadvertent intra-arterial injection of illicit substances is a known complication of injection drug use and can lead to severe complications, including infection, ischemia and compartment syndrome. Identifying complications of intra-arterial injection can be difficult, as clinical manifestations overlap with other more common conditions such as cellulitis and soft tissue infection, and a history of injection drug use is frequently not disclosed.METHODS: A 37-year-old male patient presented with 24 hours of right hand pain, erythema and swelling. Despite classic "track marks", he denied a history of injection drug use, and vascular insults were not initially considered. After failing to respond to three days of aggressive treatment for suspected deep-space infection, an arteriogram demonstrated findings consistent with digital ischemia of embolic etiology.RESULTS: As a result of the delay in diagnosis, the lesion was not amenable to reperfusion and the patient required amputation of the distal digit.CONCLUSION: Practitioners should be alert to the possibility of intra-arterial injection and resulting complications when evaluating unusual extremity infections or unexplained ischemic symptoms, even in the absence of a definite history of injection drug use.

Topological and Historical Considerations for Infectious Disease Transmission among Injecting Drug Users in Bushwick, Brooklyn (USA)

Recent interest by physicists in social networks and disease transmission factors has prompted debate over the topology of degree distributions in sexual networks. Social network researchers have been critical of “scale-free” Barabasi-Albert approaches, and largely rejected the preferential attachment, “rich-get-richer” assumptions that underlie that model. Instead, research on sexual networks has pointed to the importance of homophily and local sexual norms in dictating degree distributions, and thus disease transmission thresholds. Injecting Drug User (IDU) network topologies may differ from the emerging models of sexual networks, however. Degree distribution analysis of a Brooklyn, NY, IDU network indicates a different topology than the spanning tree configurations discussed for sexual networks, instead featuring comparatively short cycles and high concurrency. Our findings suggest that IDU networks do in some ways conform to a “scale-free” topology, and thus may represent “reservoirs” of potential infection despite seemingly low transmission thresholds.

Comparason of Peri-Articular Multimodal Drug Injection with Femoral and Sciatic Nerve Block after Total Knee Arthroplasty

Good perioperative analgesia following total knee arthroplasty facilitates rehabilitation and may reduce hospital stay. We present the patient analgesic requirements and rehabilitation of a prospective single surgeon series after the introduction of a multimodal drug injection during his total knee arthroplasty. Basic epidemiological data as well as analgesic, antiemetic requirements and time to straight leg raised was collected on 27 consecutive patients (group 1) whom received the multimodal drug injection, consisting of levobupivacaine, ketorolac and adrenaline at the time of their total knee arthroplasty under spinal anaesthesia. Their rehabilitation was compared to a retrospective review of patients who were case matched by age and sex (group 2n = 26), whom had received the unit standard of spinal anaesthetic and a femoral and sciatic block at the time of their operation. Patients in group 1 had significantly lower analgesic and antiemetic requirements than group 2. Group 1 also had a significantly shorter hospital stay. We have demonstrated that periarticular multimodal drug injection can improve perioperative analgesia and mobilisation following total knee arthroplasty as well as reducing opioid requirements and side effects.

Estimating the Size of an Injecting Drug User Population

This article describes a sampling and estimation scheme for estimating the size of an injecting drug user (IDU) population by combining classical sampling and respondent-driven sampling procedures. It is designed to use the information from harm reduction programs, especially, Needle Exchange Programs (NEPs). The approach involves using respondent-driven sampling design to collect a sample of injecting drug users who appear at site of NEP in a certain period of time and to obtain retrospective self-report data on the number of friends among the IDUs and number of needles exchanged for each sampled injecting drug user. A methodology is developed to estimate the size of injecting drug users who have ever used the NEP during the fixed period of time, and which allows us to estimate the proportion of injecting drug users in using NEP. The size of the IDU population is estimated by dividing the total number of IDUs who using NEPs during the period of time by the estimated proportion of IDUs in the group. The technique holds promise for providing data needed to answer questions such as “What is the size of an IDU population in a city?” and “Is that size changing?” and better understand the dynamics of the IDU population. The methodology described here can also be used to estimate size of other hard-to-reach population by using information from harm reduction programs.

Analysis and Management of Adverse Drug Reactions after Injection of Amphotericin B in AIDS Patients with Fungal Infection

Objective: To understand the condition of adverse drug reactions and the treatment procedures of amphotericin B for injection in patients with AIDS complicated with fungal infection. Methods: For the research object, a retrospective analysis of adverse reactions of amphotericin B injection in 121 patients of AIDS complicated with fungal infection was reported in our hospital from October 2017 to June 2021 to observe the adverse drug reactions of patients after treatment with amphotericin B for injection, 87 cases with general degree (regarded as the general group) and 34 cases with serious degree (regarded as the serious group), and analyze the general data, medication and course of disease of the two groups for symptomatic treatment. Results: Adverse reactions such as hypokalemia, abnormal liver function, renal impairment, leucopenia and drug fever were more common in the two groups, and there were also many adverse reactions such as bone marrow suppression, rash, anemia, thrombocytopenia, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, pruritus, angina pectoris, vertigo, abdominal pain and diarrhea. The rates of leukopenia and drug fever in general group were significantly lower than those in severe group (P < 0.05);in the dose of amphotericin B used, the rate of using 25 mg and more than 25 mg in the general group was significantly lower than that in the severe group (P < 0.05). After symptomatic treat-ment, most patients have improved, and a few are unknown or have not improved. Con-clusion: Amphotericin B for injection has great side effects and will cause different degrees of adverse drug reactions. The dose of amphotericin B for clinical treatment should be ad-justed and disposed according to the adverse reactions to avoid serious consequences.

A review on the Pharmacology and Adverse Drug Reaction of Chaihu Herbal Injection

The Chaihu herbal injection was the first herbal injection to be developed and used in China,which has been used in clinic for more than 70 years.This injection is widely used to treat fever caused by influenza or common cold and malaria.However,there is an ongoing debate about the safety of the clinical use of Chaihu herbal injection in view of the large number of adverse drug reaction reports and literature in China.On May 29,2018,the China Food and Drug Administration issued a notice requiring to revise the instruction manual of Chaihu herbal injection,list"prohibit for children"under the taboo item,and add the warning"adverse reactions of this product include anaphylactic shock".The purpose of this review is to provide updated,comprehensive information on the pharmacology and adverse drug reaction of Chaihu herbal injection based on scientific literatures in the past few decades.

Random Forest Analysis the Influencing Factors on Adverse Drug Reactions of Qingkailing Injection

Objective:To investigate the influencing factors of adverse drug reaction(ADR)in Qingkailing injection.Methods:Based on the hospitals centralized monitoring data of multicenter and prospective,the patients who used Qingkailing injection from January 2013 to March 2016 were monitored in 48 medical institutions in China.The nesting case-control study was used and the random forest was used for analysis.The main contents of the analysis are as follows:past history,past allergy history and ADR history,clinical diagnosis,dosage,interval drug,solvent type,combined drug use,etc.Results:A total of 30842 cases with Qingkailing injection were included,with 92 cases of adverse reactions and the incidence of adverse reactions was 3‰.According to the nested case-control study design,the influencing factors of 92 patients with ADR and 276 non-drug-related adverse reactions were displayed on the basis of statistical description(significance level P≤0.2 and clinical information)using Random forest analysis shows that the factors affecting the ADR of the Qingkailing injection according to the MeandecaseGini are from high to low in the first 15 positions:Vitamin supplements,tumors,gastrointestinal diseases,traditional Chinese medicine,previous allergic history,cerebral insufficiency,rash,urinary tract infection,vascular and lymphovascular diseases,pioglitazone,metabolic and endocrine system drugs,past ADR history,respiratory and mediastinal diseases,dioxpromazide,pneumonia.Conclusion:The incidence of adverse reactions in Qingkailing injection hospital is 3%.The factors closely related to the occurrence of ADR are previous tumors,gastrointestinal diseases,history of adverse reactions of rash,urinary tract infection,insufficient cerebral blood supply,respiratory system and other diseases,pioglitazone and other combined drugs.

导向注药套管经鼻悬吊留置伴或不伴锚定治疗肺部霉菌病的操作流程

全身使用有效抗霉菌药物是治疗肺部霉菌病的基础治疗方法,同时,经过内镜注药是气管、支气管和肺部霉菌病最重要的治疗方式之一。相比内镜注药,导向注药套管经鼻悬吊留置伴或不伴锚定治疗肺部霉菌病具有较多优势,包括可接驳注射泵持续缓慢地注入药物,可避免反复进行呼吸内镜等。该文介绍了导向注药套管经鼻悬吊留置伴或不伴锚定治疗肺部霉菌病的操作流程。

腺苷注射液在紫杉醇释放冠脉球囊导管扩张术中的应用价值

目的评价腺苷注射液在药物涂层球囊术中的应用价值。方法纳入行药物涂层球囊术患者200例,随机分为2组,一组为对照组,术后依据常规治疗;二组为观察组,术后立即给予患者腺苷注射液持续泵入3 h。所有患者行冠脉SYNTAXⅡ评分,记录经皮冠状动脉腔内成形术(PTCA)术前及术后6、12、18、24 h时CK-MB、NT-proBNP、hs-CRP情况、术前及术后7 d应用心脏专用机行静息+瑞加诺生负荷心肌核素灌注显像(D-SPECT),观察静息+负荷心肌17节段分布下心肌灌注总积分数值以及术后药物不良反应情况。结果(1)两组患者临床特征、入院合并用药情况、冠脉SYNTAXⅡ评分及PTCA治疗情况、平均靶血管狭窄程度、平均球囊直径及长度、PTCA术前的CK-MB、NT-proBNP、hs-CRP、术前静息+负荷心肌17节段分布下心肌灌注总积分数值差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。(2)观察组患者术后6、12、18、24 h时CK-MB、NT-proBNP、hs-CRP数值显著低于对照组(P<0.05),观察组患者术后7 d的静息+负荷心肌17节段分布下心肌灌注总积分显著低于对照组(P<0.05),2组患者术后药物不良反应情况差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论药物涂层球囊治疗后的患者中应用腺苷注射液可显著降低术后24 h CK-MB、NT-proBNP、hs-CRP值以及术后7 d的静息+负荷心肌17节段分布下心肌灌注总积分,未增加明显不良反应。

托珠单抗注射液致过敏性休克1例分析

目的 分析托珠单抗注射液致过敏性休克的特点,为临床合理用药提供参考。方法 报道1例儿童使用托珠单抗导致过敏性休克的案例,通过文献回顾托珠单抗导致过敏性休克的情况,并分析原因及防治措施。结果 根据患者的临床表现及药物与用药时间的关联性,考虑托珠单抗导致过敏性休克,患者经有效抗过敏治疗后,过敏性休克症状得到缓解。结论 临床应用托珠单抗应警惕过敏性休克等过敏情况,对严重过敏患者应禁止使用。