BACKGROUND Mononuclear cells play key roles in the pathogenesis of HIV associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). Limited studies have looked at the association of markers of monocyte activation with HAND in Africa. Chidamide nmr We examined this association among HIV-1 infected patients in Nigeria. METHOD A total of 190 HIV-infected treatment-naïve participants with immune marker data were included in this cross-sectional study. Plasma levels of soluble CD14 (sCD14), soluble CD163, monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and neopterin were measured. Demographically adjusted T scores obtained from a 7-domain neuropsychological test battery were generated and functional status assessed using activities of daily living questionnaire. Participants were classified as unimpaired, having asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (ANI), minor neurocognitive disorder (MND), or HIV associated dementia (HAD) in line with the 'Frascati' criteria. RESULTS Thirty-two participants (16.8%) had ANI, 14 (7.4%) had MND, while none had HAD. In multivariable linear regression analyses, adjusting for age, gender, education, CD4 count and viral load, mean levels of sCD14 were higher among those with ANI and MND as compared to the unimpaired (p = 0.033 and 0.023 respectively). Similarly, the mean level of MCP-1 was greater among those with HAND as compared to the unimpaired (P= 0.047). There were also trends for higher levels of sCD163 and TNF-α among females with MND in univariable analyses. CONCLUSION Levels of monocyte activation markers correlate with the severity of impairment among individuals with HAND. The mechanisms that underlie these effects and the potential role of gender require further study.BACKGROUND Some persons who achieve viral suppression may later experience viral rebound, potentially putting them at risk for transmitting HIV. We estimate the prevalence of, and describe factors associated with, viral rebound among adults with diagnosed HIV in the United States who had ≥2 viral load tests in a 12-month period. SETTING The Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) is an annual cross-sectional survey about the experiences and needs of adults with diagnosed HIV sampled from the National HIV Surveillance System (NHSS). METHODS We analyzed interview and medical record data from three MMP cycles spanning June 2015-May 2018. We analyzed viral load results from the 12-month period before the interview among persons with ≥2 viral load tests who achieved viral suppression. Data were weighted based on known probabilities of selection, adjusted for patient nonresponse, and post-stratified to known population totals from NHSS. RESULTS Among those with ≥2 viral load tests who achieved viral suppression, 7.5% demonstrated viral rebound. In multivariable analyses, viral rebound was higher among non-Hispanic blacks, persons ages 18-39, persons with public insurance, persons recently experiencing homelessness, persons with higher numbers of viral load tests, persons who missed HIV care appointments, and persons with sub-optimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy. CONCLUSIONS Viral rebound varied by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. HIV providers can monitor persons at greatest risk for viral rebound and link patients with ancillary services or evidence-based interventions to help them remain virally suppressed. Our findings can inform strategies and interventions implemented under the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative.INTRODUCTION Cigarette smoking is extremely common among persons living with HIV (PLWH) in the United States, and it has emerged as a leading killer in this group. No tobacco treatment studied to date has demonstrated long-term efficacy. METHODS This was a follow-up study of PLWH adult smokers who completed a randomized controlled trial of Positively Smoke Free (PSF) group therapy from 2014 to 2017. Participants from two of the three trial sites were recalled to complete a long-term follow-up assessment, at least one year after initial enrollment. RESULTS Of the 342 candidates for this follow-up study, 11 had died prior to our attempts to contact them, and 194 of the remaining 331 (58.6%) completed the late follow-up assessment. Most (91.2%) of the remaining candidates could not be contacted despite numerous attempts. At a mean of 38.1 months after initial study enrollment, employing an intention-to-treat, lost to follow-up=still smoking (worst case scenario) strategy, 12.7% of group therapy vs. 6.6% of control participants had biochemically-verified 7-day point-prevalence abstinence, OR=2.06 (95% CI0.96-4.41), P=0.06, and 10.3% of group therapy vs. 4.2% of control participants had biochemically-verified 12-month point-prevalence abstinence, OR=2.61 (95% CI 1.05-6.47, P=0.03). Improvements in abstinence self-efficacy in the PSF group observed in the original study were sustained through late follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Targeted group therapy for PLWH smokers was associated with increased cessation and sustained improvements in abstinence self-efficacy at a mean of more than three years of follow-up. This is the first trial to show long-term efficacy of tobacco treatment for PLWH.BACKGROUND The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends universal antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV (PLWH), but evidence about effects of expanded ART access on ART retention in low-resource settings is limited. SETTING Haiti's Ministry of Health endorsed universal ART for pregnant women in March 2013 (Option B+) and for all PLWH in July 2016. This study included 51,579 ART patients from 2011-17 at 94 hospitals and clinics in Haiti. METHODS This observational, retrospective cohort study described time trends in 6-month ART retention using secondary data, and compared results during three time periods using an interrupted time series (ITS) model pre-Option B+ (period 1 1/11-2/13), Option B+ (period 2 3/13-6/16), and Test and Start (T&S, period 3 7/16-9/17). RESULTS From the pre-Option B+ to the T&S period, the monthly count of new ART patients increased from 366/month to 877/month, and the proportion with same-day ART increased from 6.3% to 42.1% (p30 days after HIV diagnosis (aIRR=0.86; 95% CI 0.