Weinreich Cobb (springfriend3)

ocesses in the era of COVID-19, especially as cases are rising in the United States. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and sustained HIV suppression virtually eliminates HIV transmission, e.g., having an undetectable viral load renders HIV untransmittable (U=U). Due to the greatly reduced likelihood of HIV transmission when viral load is undetectable, we studied one behavioral ramification of adopting a U=U prevention strategy - not disclosing HIV status to sex partners. Cisgender men recruited through community outreach in the state of Georgia, USA. We examined HIV status disclosure to sex partners among 345 young (median age = 29) men receiving ART. Data were collected using computerized interviews, 28-daily sexual behavior surveys, unannounced pill counts for ART adherence, urine tests for drug use and urogenital health, and blood samples for HIV viral load. One in three (34%) participants engaged in condomless anal/vaginal intercourse with an HIV negative/unknown HIV status partner over 28-days. buy RO5126766 Average ART adherence was 76% and one in five men had detectable HIV viral loads. Men who engaged in condomless sex with undisclosed partners demonstrated significantly less HIV disclosure to family and friends and had fewer enacted stigma experiences. Hierarchical regression models showed that endorsing U=U as a personal HIV prevention strategy predicted undisclosed condomless sex over and above substance use, HIV stigma experiences, disclosure to family and friends, ART adherence and HIV viral load. Interventions are needed to improve ART adherence and assist men living with HIV in their decisions to disclose HIV status to sex partners. Interventions are needed to improve ART adherence and assist men living with HIV in their decisions to disclose HIV status to sex partners. The diagnosis of Myelin-Associated Glycoprotein (MAG) neuropathy is based on the presence of elevated titers of IgM anti-MAG antibodies, which are typically associated with IgM monoclonal gammopathy, and a slowly progressive, distal demyelinating phenotype. The condition, however, can be under or over diagnosed in patients with mildly elevated antibody titers, absent monoclonal gammopathy, or an atypical presentation. The purpose of this paper is to examine recent advances in our understanding of the currently available anti-MAG antibody assays, their reliability, and their use in deciding treatment or monitoring the response to therapy. Higher titers of anti-MAG antibodies are more likely to be associated with the typical MAG phenotype or response to therapy. Mildly elevated antibody levels can occur in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Testing for cross-reactivity with HNK1 can add to the specificity of the antibody assays. Patients with MAG neuropathy can present with an bsence of a monoclonal gammopathy or typical phenotype. The change in antibody levels needs to be considered in evaluating the response to therapy with B-cell depleting agents. In recent years, there has been an intense debate in literature regarding the definition of the individual variants of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), their possible pathogenetic mechanisms, and impact in the diagnosis of CIDP. The 2021 European Federation of Neurological Societies/Peripheral Nerve Society (EFNS/PNS) guidelines revised the definition of the individual CIDP variants and implemented their diagnostic criteria. Diagnosis of atypical CIDP is challenging and misdiagnosis is frequent, leading to diagnostic delay and consequent greater accumulation of disability and treatment dependency. Recent studies suggest that patients with typical CIDP have an antibody-mediated mechanism of neuropathy whereas in those with Lewis--Sumner syndrome (LSS) neuropathy is preferentially mediated by macrophages and T cells. Although