@article{KasangKalluvyaMajingeetal.2016,
  author    = {Kasang, Christa and Kalluvya, Samuel and Majinge, Charles and Kongola, Gilbert and Mlewa, Mathias and Massawe, Irene and Kabyemera, Rogatus and Magambo, Kinanga and Ulmer, Albrecht and Klinker, Hartwig and Gschmack, Eva and Horn, Anne and Koutsilieri, Eleni and Preiser, Wolfgang and Hofmann, Daniela and Hain, Johannes and M{\"u}ller, Andreas and D{\"o}lken, Lars and Weissbrich, Benedikt and Rethwilm, Axel and Stich, August and Scheller, Carsten},
  title     = {Effects of Prednisolone on Disease Progression in Antiretroviral-Untreated HIV Infection: A 2-Year Randomized, Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial},
  series = {PLoS One},
  volume    = {11},
  journal   = {PLoS One},
  number    = {1},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0146678},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-146479},
  pages     = {e0146678},
  year      = {2016},
  abstract  = {Background HIV-disease progression correlates with immune activation. Here we investigated whether corticosteroid treatment can attenuate HIV disease progression in antiretroviral-untreated patients. Methods Double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial including 326 HIV-patients in a resource-limited setting in Tanzania (clinicaltrials.gov NCT01299948). Inclusion criteria were a CD4 count above 300 cells/μl, the absence of AIDS-defining symptoms and an ART-na{\"i}ve therapy status. Study participants received 5 mg prednisolone per day or placebo for 2 years. Primary endpoint was time to progression to an AIDS-defining condition or to a CD4-count below 200 cells/μl. Results No significant change in progression towards the primary endpoint was observed in the intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis (19 cases with prednisolone versus 28 cases with placebo, p = 0.1407). In a per-protocol (PP)-analysis, 13 versus 24 study participants progressed to the primary study endpoint (p = 0.0741). Secondary endpoints: Prednisolone-treatment decreased immune activation (sCD14, suPAR, CD38/HLA-DR/CD8+) and increased CD4-counts (+77.42 ± 5.70 cells/μl compared to -37.42 ± 10.77 cells/μl under placebo, p < 0.0001). Treatment with prednisolone was associated with a 3.2-fold increase in HIV viral load (p < 0.0001). In a post-hoc analysis stratifying for sex, females treated with prednisolone progressed significantly slower to the primary study endpoint than females treated with placebo (ITT-analysis: 11 versus 21 cases, p = 0.0567; PP-analysis: 5 versus 18 cases, p = 0.0051): No changes in disease progression were observed in men. Conclusions This study could not detect any significant effects of prednisolone on disease progression in antiretroviral-untreated HIV infection within the intent-to-treat population. However, significant effects were observed on CD4 counts, immune activation and HIV viral load. This study contributes to a better understanding of the role of immune activation in the pathogenesis of HIV infection.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KasangKalluvyaMajingeetal.2011,
  author    = {Kasang, Christa and Kalluvya, Samuel and Majinge, Charles and Stich, August and Bodem, Jochen and Kongola, Gilbert and Jacobs, Graeme B. and Mllewa, Mathias and Mildner, Miriam and Hensel, Irina and Horn, Anne and Preiser, Wolfgang and van Zyl, Gert and Klinker, Hartwig and Koutsilieri, Eleni and Rethwilm, Axel and Scheller, Carsten and Weissbrich, Benedikt},
  title     = {HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) in antiretroviral therapy-naive patients in Tanzania not eligible for WHO threshold HIVDR survey is dramatically high},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-69024},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended guidelines for a HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) survey for resource-limited countries. Eligibility criteria for patients include age below 25 years in order to focus on the prevalence of transmitted HIVDR (tHIVDR) in newly-infected individuals. Most of the participating sites across Africa have so far reported tHIVDR prevalences of below 5\%. In this study we investigated whether the rate of HIVDR in patients ,25 years is representative for HIVDR in the rest of the therapy-naive population. Methods and Findings: HIVDR was determined in 88 sequentially enrolled ART-naive patients from Mwanza, Tanzania (mean age 35.4 years). Twenty patients were aged, 25 years and 68 patients were aged 25-63 years. The frequency of HIVDR in the study population was 14.8\% (95\%; CI 0.072-0.223) and independent of NVP-resistance induced by prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs. Patients .25 years had a significantly higher HIVDR frequency than younger patients (19.1\%; 95\% CI 0.095-0.28) versus 0\%, P = 0.0344). In 2 out of the 16 patients with HIVDR we found traces of antiretrovirals (ARVs) in plasma. Conclusions: ART-naive patients aged over 25 years exhibited significantly higher HIVDR than younger patients. Detection of traces of ARVs in individuals with HIVDR suggests that besides transmission, undisclosed misuse of ARVs may constitute a significant factor in the generation of the observed high HIVDR rate. The current WHO tHIVDR survey that is solely focused on the transmission of HIVDR and that excludes patients over 25 years of age may therefore result in substantial underestimation of the prevalence of HIVDR in the therapy-naive population. Similar studies should be performed also in other areas to test whether the so far reported optimistic picture of low HIVDR prevalence in young individuals is really representative for the rest of the ART-naive HIV-infected population.},
  subject      = {Tansania},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KasangKalluvyaMajingeetal.2011,
  author    = {Kasang, Christa and Kalluvya, Samuel and Majinge, Charles and Stich, August and Bodem, Jochen and Kongola, Gilbert and Jacobs, Graeme B. and Mlewa, Mathias and Mildner, Miriam and Hensel, Irina and Horn, Anne and Preiser, Wolfgang and van Zyl, Gert and Klinker, Hartwig and Koutsilieri, Eleni and Rethwilm, Axel and Scheller, Carsten and Weissbrich, Benedikt},
  title     = {HIV Drug Resistance (HIVDR) in Antiretroviral Therapy-Na{\"i}ve Patients in Tanzania Not Eligible for WHO Threshold HIVDR Survey Is Dramatically High},
  series = {PLoS One},
  volume    = {6},
  journal   = {PLoS One},
  number    = {8},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0023091},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-137988},
  pages     = {e23091},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {Background The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended guidelines for a HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) survey for resource-limited countries. Eligibility criteria for patients include age below 25 years in order to focus on the prevalence of transmitted HIVDR (tHIVDR) in newly-infected individuals. Most of the participating sites across Africa have so far reported tHIVDR prevalences of below 5\%. In this study we investigated whether the rate of HIVDR in patients <25 years is representative for HIVDR in the rest of the therapy-na{\"i}ve population. Methods and Findings HIVDR was determined in 88 sequentially enrolled ART-na{\"i}ve patients from Mwanza, Tanzania (mean age 35.4 years). Twenty patients were aged <25 years and 68 patients were aged 25-63 years. The frequency of HIVDR in the study population was 14.8\% (95\%; CI 0.072-0.223) and independent of NVP-resistance induced by prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs. Patients >25 years had a significantly higher HIVDR frequency than younger patients (19.1\%; 95\% CI 0.095-0.28) versus 0\%, P = 0.0344). In 2 out of the 16 patients with HIVDR we found traces of antiretrovirals (ARVs) in plasma. Conclusions ART-na{\"i}ve patients aged over 25 years exhibited significantly higher HIVDR than younger patients. Detection of traces of ARVs in individuals with HIVDR suggests that besides transmission, undisclosed misuse of ARVs may constitute a significant factor in the generation of the observed high HIVDR rate. The current WHO tHIVDR survey that is solely focused on the transmission of HIVDR and that excludes patients over 25 years of age may therefore result in substantial underestimation of the prevalence of HIVDR in the therapy-na{\"i}ve population. Similar studies should be performed also in other areas to test whether the so far reported optimistic picture of low HIVDR prevalence in young individuals is really representative for the rest of the ART-na{\"i}ve HIV-infected population.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{GundaKasangKidenyaetal.2013,
  author    = {Gunda, Daniel W. and Kasang, Christa and Kidenya, Benson R. and Kabangila, Rodrick and Mshana, Stephen E. and Kidola, Jeremiah and Kalluvya, Samuel E. and Kongola, Gilbert W. and Klinker, Hartwig},
  title     = {Plasma Concentrations of Efavirenz and Nevirapine among HIV-Infected Patients with Immunological Failure Attending a Tertiary Hospital in North-Western Tanzania},
  series = {PLOS ONE},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {PLOS ONE},
  number    = {9},
  issn      = {1932-6203},
  doi       = {10.1371/journal.pone.0075118},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-128456},
  pages     = {e75118},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Background: Sub-therapeutic and supra-therapeutic plasma concentrations of antriretrovirals are the significant causes of treatment failure and toxicity respectively among HIV-infected patients. We conducted this study to determine the pattern of efavirenz and nevirapine plasma drug concentrations among adult HIV-infected patients with immunological failure attending at a tertiary hospital in North-western Tanzania. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adult HIV-infected patients with immunological failure who have been on either efavirenz or nevirapine based antiretroviral regimen for more than 6 months. Patients were serially enrolled through routine Care and Treatment Clinic (CTC) activities. Plasma drug concentrations for efavirenz and nevirapine were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Gas Chromatography (GC) respectively. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data such as viral load and CD4 counts were collected. Data analysis was done using STATA 12. Results: Of the 152 patients with immunological failure enrolled, the sub-therapeutic, therapeutic and supra-therapeutic plasma antiretroviral drug concentrations were found in 43/152 (28.3\%), 76/152 (50.0\%) and 33/152 (21.7\%) respectively. Half of the patients were outside therapeutic window with either sub-therapeutic or supra-therapeutic plasma ARV drug concentrations. There was a significant difference in distribution of ARV adherence (p-value<0.001), NRTI backbone (p-value = 0.039), HIV stage (p-value = 0.026) and viral load (p-value = 0.007) within sub-therapeutic, therapeutic and supratherapeutic ARV plasma drug concentrations. Conclusion: There is a wide inter-individual variability of plasma ARV concentrations among HIV patients with immunological failure, with a large proportion of patients being outside therapeutic window. This variability is significant based on ARV adherence, NRTI backbone, viral load and HIV stage. Routine therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) could assist identifying these patients early and making timely correction to avoid virological failure, poor immunological outcome and prevent associated drug toxicities. Nonetheless, ARV adherence should be strictly emphasized on HIV patients with immunological failure.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{KasangUlmerDonhauseretal.2012,
  author    = {Kasang, Christa and Ulmer, Albrecht and Donhauser, Norbert and Schmidt, Barabara and Stich, August and Klinker, Hartwig and Kalluvya, Samuel and Koutsilieri, Eleni and Rethwilm, Axel and Scheller, Carsten},
  title     = {HIV patients treated with low-dose prednisolone exhibit lower immune activation than untreated patients},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-75100},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {Background: HIV-associated general immune activation is a strong predictor for HIV disease progression, suggesting that chronic immune activation may drive HIV pathogenesis. Consequently, immunomodulating agents may decelerate HIV disease progression. Methods: In an observational study, we determined immune activation in HIV patients receiving low-dose (5 mg/day) prednisolone with or without highly-active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) compared to patients without prednisolone treatment. Lymphocyte activation was determined by flow cytometry detecting expression of CD38 on CD8(+) T cells. The monocyte activation markers sCD14 and LPS binding protein (LBP) as well as inflammation markers soluble urokinase plasminogen activated receptor (suPAR) and sCD40L were determined from plasma by ELISA. Results: CD38-expression on CD8+ T lymphocytes was significantly lower in prednisolone-treated patients compared to untreated patients (median 55.40\% [percentile range 48.76-67.70] versus 73.34\% [65.21-78.92], p = 0.0011, Mann-Whitney test). Similarly, we detected lower levels of sCD14 (3.6 μg/ml [2.78-5.12] vs. 6.11 μg/ml [4.58-7.70]; p = 0.0048), LBP (2.18 ng/ml [1.59-2.87] vs. 3.45 ng/ml [1.84-5.03]; p = 0.0386), suPAR antigen (2.17 μg/ml [1.65-2.81] vs. 2.56 μg/ml [2.24-4.26]; p = 0.0351) and a trend towards lower levels of sCD40L (2.70 pg/ml [1.90-4.00] vs. 3.60 pg/ml [2.95-5.30]; p = 0.0782). Viral load in both groups was similar (0.8 × 105 ng/ml [0.2-42.4 × 105] vs. 1.1 × 105 [0.5-12.2 × 105]; p = 0.3806). No effects attributable to prednisolone were observed when patients receiving HAART in combination with prednisolone were compared to patients who received HAART alone. Conclusions: Patients treated with low-dose prednisolone display significantly lower general immune activation than untreated patients. Further longitudinal studies are required to assess whether treatment with low-dose prednisolone translates into differences in HIV disease progression.},
  subject      = {HIV},
  language  = {en}
}
@phdthesis{Kasang2013,
  author    = {Kasang, Christa},
  title     = {Untersuchung der Effekte von Prednisolon auf die HIV-Progression und Ermittlung der Medikamentenresistenz in antiretroviral-unbehandelten HIV-Patienten in Tansania},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-85638},
  school      = {Universit{\"a}t W{\"u}rzburg},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Die Progression der HIV Infektion ist vermutlich bedingt von einer unspezifischen generalisierten Immunaktivierung des Patienten (Sousa, Carneiro et al. 2002; Hazenberg, Otto et al. 2003). Somit k{\"o}nnte ein immunsuppressives Medikament wie das Kortisonpr{\"a}parat Prednisolon die Progression der Erkrankung verlangsamen. Im Rahmen nicht-kontrollierter Studien konnte die Stabilisierung der CD4+ T-Lymphozyten in HIV-Patienten durch den Einsatz von Kortison beobachtet werden (Andrieu, Lu et al. 1995; Lu, Salerno-Goncalves et al. 1995). Dieser Effekt konnte auch mit niedrig dosiertem Prednisolon (5 mg/Tag) nachgewiesen werden (Ulmer, Muller et al. 2005). Jedoch zeigen neuere Ergebnisse, dass der CD4+ T-Lymphozytenwert bei Studien zu Immunmodulatoren kein verl{\"a}sslicher Surrogatmarker f{\"u}r die Progression ist (Abrams, Levy et al. 2009). In der vorliegenden Arbeit sollte untersucht werden, ob sich zum Einen der stabilisierende Effekt von niedrig dosiertem Prednisolon (5 mg pro Tag) auf CD4+ T-Lymphozyten in einer kontrollierten Studie best{\"a}tigt, ob zum Zweiten die CD4+ T-Lymphozytenstabilisierung auf eine Senkung der Immunaktivierung zur{\"u}ckgef{\"u}hrt werden kann und ob zum Dritten die CD4+ TLymphozytenstabilisierung die klinische Krankheitsprogression verlangsamt. Im Rahmen der ProCort-Studie sollte außerdem eine Bestimmung der Pr{\"a}valenz medikamentenresistenter HIV-Infektionen bei ART unbehandelten Patienten erfolgen. Hierbei wurden die WHO Kriterien {\"u}berpr{\"u}ft, die als Einschlusskriterien f{\"u}r Patienten in Resistenz-{\"U}berwachungsstudien ein H{\"o}chstalter von 25 Jahren festgelegt hat. In unserer Untersuchung wurden demgegen{\"u}ber Proben von Patienten mit h{\"o}herem Alter und bereits therapierten Partnern analysiert.Methoden: Im Rahmen einer doppelblinden randomisierten klinischen Studie (ProCort1) im Bugando Medical Center (BMC) in Mwanza, Tansania, wurden 326 HIV-Patienten eingeschlossen, die zuvor noch nie mit ART behandelt wurden und einen CD4+ TLymphozytenwert von mindestens 300/μl aufwiesen. In 14 Visiten wurden, w{\"a}hrend einer zweij{\"a}hrigen Behandlungsdauer entweder mit 5mg Prednisolon t{\"a}glich oder mit Placebo, die CD4+ T-Lymphozytenwerte und das Auftreten von Progression der HIV-Infektion bestimmt. Prim{\"a}rer Studienendpunkt war die Krankheitsprogression, definiert als ein Unterschreiten von 200 CD4-Zellen/μl oder dem Auftreten AIDS-definierender Erkrankungen. Um die immunologische Wirkungsweise von Prednisolon in HIV-infizierten Patienten zu untersuchen wurden sowohl in den tansanischen Studienpatienten als auch in einer mit 5 mg Prednisolon behandelten deutschen Kohorte die Lymphozytenaktivierungsmarker CD38/HLADR auf CD3/CD8-Zellen, der Monozytenaktivierungsmarker sCD14 und der Entz{\"u}ndungsmarker suPAR bestimmt. Um die Pr{\"a}valenz der HIV Medikamentenresistenz (HIVDR) in der ProCort Studienpopulation zu ermitteln wurden 88 Proben der ART unbehandelten Patienten sequenziert. Ergebnisse: Die Ergebnisse der ProCort Studie zeigten eine statistisch signifikante Stabilisierung der CD4+ T-Lymphozytenwerte im Vergleich zum Ausgangswert durch Einsatz einer niedrig dosierten Prednisolonbehandlung (5 mg t{\"a}glich). In der Intent to treat Analyse wurde ein Zugewinn von +20,1 Zellen/μl pro Jahr f{\"u}r den Prednisolonarm (p < 0.0001) im Vergleich zu -54,2 Zellen/μl pro Jahr f{\"u}r den Placeboarm (p < 0.0001) bestimmt. Die CD4+ T-Lymphozytenwerte zum Zeitpunkt der Startvisite waren im Prednisolonarm statistisch signifikant niedriger (Mean 512.14 Zellen/μl ± S.E.M. 13.39) als im Placeboarm (Mean 554.40 ± S.E.M 15.75; p = 0.042). Dies bedeutet eine schlechtere Ausgangslage f{\"u}r die mit Prednisolon behandelten Patienten. Trotzdem entwickelten nur vier Patienten mit Prednisolonbehandlung im Vergleich zu 11 Patienten mit Placebobehandlung AIDS, was eine statistisch signifikante Verringerung der Progressionsrate bedeutet (p=0.0196). In 16 Patienten versus 18 Patienten fielen die CD4+ T-Lymphozytenwerte unter die Werte von 200 Zellen/μl. Die Behandlung mit Prednisolon war nicht mit einer h{\"o}heren Rate von unerw{\"u}nschten Ereignissen oder h{\"o}herer Viruslast assoziiert.},
  subject      = {Retroviren},
  language  = {de}
}
@article{RudovickBraunerEnglertetal.2018,
  author    = {Rudovick, Ladius and Brauner, Jan M. and Englert, Johanna and Seemann, Carolina and Plugaru, Karina and Kidenya, Benson R. and Kalluvya, Samuel E. and Scheller, Carsten and Kasang, Christa},
  title     = {Prevalence of pretreatment HIV drug resistance in Mwanza, Tanzania},
  series = {Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy},
  volume    = {73},
  journal   = {Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy},
  number    = {12},
  doi       = {10.1093/jac/dky332},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-227124},
  pages     = {3476-3481},
  year      = {2018},
  abstract  = {Background: In a 2008-10 study, we found a pretreatment HIV drug resistance (PDR) prevalence of 18.2\% in patients at Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) in Mwanza, Tanzania. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of PDR and transmitted HIV drug resistance (TDR) in patients visiting the BMC from 2013 to 2015. Methods: Adult outpatients were sequentially enrolled into two groups, separated by whether they were initiating ART. Previous exposure to antiretroviral drugs, except for prevention of mother-to-child transmission, was an exclusion criterion. HIV pol sequences were analysed according to WHO guidelines for surveillance of PDR and TDR. Results: Two hundred and thirty-five sequences were analysed (138 ART initiators, 97 non-initiators). The prevalence of PDR was 4.7\% (95\% CI 2.6\%-8.2\%) overall, 3.1\% (95\% CI 1.1\%-8.7\%) for non-initiators and 5.8\% (95\% CI 3.0\%-11.0\%) for ART initiators. PDR to NNRTIs and nucleoside or nucelotide reverse transcriptase inhibitors was found in 3.0\% (95\% CI 1.5\%-6.0\%) and 1.7\% (95\% CI 0.7\%-4.3\%) of patients, respectively. Resistance to PIs was not observed. The prevalence of TDR was 6.0\% (95\% CI 3.6\%-9.8\%). Conclusions: Prevalence of PDR significantly decreased compared with 2008-10 and was below the WHO-defined threshold for triggering a public health response. National and systematic surveillance is needed to inform Tanzania's public health strategy.},
  language  = {en}
}