Papers by Lars Østergaard
APMIS, 1998
screening for Chlamydia trachomatis cervicitis: the value of cytobrush specimens for detection by... more screening for Chlamydia trachomatis cervicitis: the value of cytobrush specimens for detection by PCR compared with cell culture. APMIS 106: 580-584, 1998. Endocervical sampling for microbiological and pathological screening is laborious and expensive due to different sampling devices and techniques. The purpose of this study was to examine if the routine procedure could be simplified by using a cytobrush for concurrent cytology and sampling for Chlamydia trachomatis detection using the PCR method or cell culture. As a sampling device control we used a conventional rayon swab. Results: Culture: Out of 873 paired endocervical specimens, C. trachomatis was isolated in 68 swab specimens and in 65 cytobrush specimens (overall detection rate 8.4%). The cytobrush proved less suitable than the swab for the isolation of C. trachomatis as 31.5% of the cytobrush samples showed cytotoxicity to the cultured cells vs 0.9% of the swab samples. PCR: In a random sample of 427 paired endocervical specimens, C. trachomatis was detected in 45 pairs without any difference between the two sampling devices. The sensitivity of PCR was 93.8% vs 89.6% and 87.5% in cultured swab and cultured cytobrush specimens, respectively. The cytobrush can therefore be recommended as a cervical sampling device if a PCR assay is used for the detection of C. trachomatis, but not if the cell culture method is used, due to high cytotoxicity. Furthermore, the same cytobrush may be used for cervical cytological sampling and thereafter placed in transport medium for subsequent C. trachomatis detection if the PCR technique is used.
International journal of epidemiology, Jan 22, 2014
The West African country Guinea-Bissau is home to the world's highest prevalence of HIV-2, an... more The West African country Guinea-Bissau is home to the world's highest prevalence of HIV-2, and its HIV-1 prevalence is rising. Other chronic viral infections like human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and hepatitis B virus are common as well. The Bissau HIV Cohort was started in 2007 to gain new insights into the overall effect of introducing antiretroviral treatment in a treatment-naïve population with concomitant infection with three retroviruses (HIV-1, HIV-2 and HTLV-1) and tuberculosis. The cohort includes patients from the HIV clinic at Hospital Nacional Simão Mendes, the main hospital in Bissau, the capital of the country. From July 2007 to June 2013, 3762 HIV-infected patients (69% HIV-1, 18% HIV-2, 11% HIV-1/2 and 2% HIV type unknown) were included in the world's largest single-centre HIV-2 cohort. Demographic and clinical data are collected at baseline and every 6 months, together with CD4 cell count and routine biochemistry analyses. Plasma and cells are stor...
PLoS ONE, 2011
We examined whether polymorphisms in interleukin-12B (IL12B) associate with susceptibility to pul... more We examined whether polymorphisms in interleukin-12B (IL12B) associate with susceptibility to pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in two West African populations (from The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau) and in two independent populations from North and South America. Nine polymorphisms (seven SNPs, one insertion/deletion, one microsatellite) were analyzed in 321 PTB cases and 346 controls from Guinea-Bissau and 280 PTB cases and 286 controls from The Gambia. For replication we studied 281 case and 179 control African-American samples and 221 cases and 144 controls of European ancestry from the US and Argentina. First-stage single locus analyses revealed signals of association at IL12B 39 UTR SNP rs3212227 (unadjusted allelic p = 0.04; additive genotypic p = 0.05, OR = 0.78, 95% CI [0.61-0.99]) in Guinea-Bissau and rs11574790 (unadjusted allelic p = 0.05; additive genotypic p = 0.05, OR = 0.76, 95% CI [0.58-1.00]) in The Gambia. Association of rs3212227 was then replicated in African-Americans (rs3212227 allelic p = 0.002; additive genotypic p = 0.05, OR = 0.78, 95% CI [0.61-1.00]); most importantly, in the African-American cohort, multiple significant signals of association (seven of the nine polymorphisms tested) were detected throughout the gene. These data suggest that genetic variation in IL12B, a highly relevant candidate gene, is a risk factor for PTB in populations of African ancestry, although further studies will be required to confirm this association and identify the precise mechanism underlying it. Citation: Morris GAJ, Edwards DRV, Hill PC, Wejse C, Bisseye C, et al. (2011) Interleukin 12B (IL12B) Genetic Variation and Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Study of
International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2014
Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2014
The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa has impr... more The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa has improved the quality of life of millions of people and reduced mortality. However, substantial problems with the infrastructure for ART delivery remain. Clinicians and researchers at an HIV clinic in Guinea-Bissau identified problems with the delivery of ART by establishing a clinical database and by collaborating with international researchers. The Bissau HIV cohort study group was established in 2007 as a collaboration between local HIV physicians and international HIV researchers. Patients were recruited from the HIV clinic at the country's main hospital in the capital Bissau. Between 2005 and 2013, 5514 HIV-positive patients were treated at the clinic. Working together, local health-care workers and international researchers identified the main problems affecting ART delivery: inadequate drug supply; loss of patients to follow-up; and inadequate laboratory services. Solutions to thes...
PLoS ONE, 2014
Background: Co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) may ... more Background: Co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) may lead to accelerated hepatic disease progression with higher rates of liver cirrhosis and liver-related mortality compared with HBV monoinfection. Co or super-infection with hepatitis Delta virus (HDV) may worsen the liver disease and complicate treatment possibilities.
Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.), Jan 14, 2015
Interleukin-37 (IL-37) is a recently identified cytokine with potent anti-inflammatory and immuno... more Interleukin-37 (IL-37) is a recently identified cytokine with potent anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive functions. The objective of this study was to compare levels of IL-37 mRNA in immunological subgroups of HIV-1-infected individuals and non-infected controls, to determine IL-37's association with biomarkers of inflammation and reservoir size. This was a cross-sectional study. The HIV-1-infected patients were categorized in three subgroups depending on their cART-treatment status and CD4+ T-cell count. Quantitative RT-PCR was used for the detection of IL-37 mRNA and HIV-1 DNA in PBMCs. Biomarkers in plasma were quantified by ELISA, whereas T-cell activation was determined by flow cytometry. Lastly, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulations of patients PBMCs were carried out to determine differences in IL-37 mRNA response between the subgroups. Sixty HIV-1-infected patients and 20 non-infected controls were included in the study. Steady-state IL-37 mRNA levels in PBMCs were si...
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Papers by Lars Østergaard