Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Apr 26, 2024

Hong Kong researchers suggest HCMV detection in urine as routine test for HIV-1 patients

Hong Kong researchers suggest HCMV detection in urine as routine test for HIV-1 patients

A Hong Kong Baptist University collaborative research team has shown that urine tests for human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can identify the risk of end-organ diseases such as pneumonitis, gastrointestinal ulcers, hepatitis and myocarditis, earlier in patients who have been infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1).
The findings suggest that HCMV detection in urine should be implemented as a routine test for HIV-1 patients who are progressing towards acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), as anti-HCMV treatments could reduce the incidence of lung and cardiovascular end-organ diseases by half.

HCMV is a DNA virus found in more than half of the human population. It is controlled by an intact immune system and remains dormant in healthy individuals. However, it can be reactivated in patients with poor immune systems, such as those in the fourth stage of HIV-1 infection, and as a result it can become one of the major opportunistic infections that cause life-threatening end-organ diseases.

In Hong Kong, HCMV detection is not part of the routine check-ups for HIV-1 patients unless they suffer from apparent end-organ diseases. In such cases, blood tests are the preferred method of detection.

According to researchers, routine urine tests for HCMV can monitor the development of end-organ diseases more effectively, which signals the need for early medical intervention.

The team screened the records of more than 130,000 HIV-1 patients in Shenzhen between January 2011 and June 2022, and selected about 13,700 patients with relevant blood and urine test records. They were grouped according to the four stages of HIV-1 infection, and the results of their HCMV blood and urine tests were then compared.

It was discovered that in all the four patient groups, the proportions of patients found to be HCMV-positive were higher in the urine samples than in the corresponding blood samples. The situation was particularly obvious for HIV-1 patients in the “developing” stage.

Urine tests showed that 5.8% of second-stage HIV-1 patients were HCMV-positive compared to only 0.9% using blood tests. The proportions of third-stage HIV-1 patients found to be HCMV-positive using urine and blood tests were 12.8% and 1.4%, respectively.

This suggests that HCMV is more easily detected in urine than in the blood, especially during the “developing” stage of HIV-1 infection.

The researchers further filtered 233 “developing” stage HIV-1 patients with detailed clinical and disease records to evaluate the association between HCMV and the onset of different types of end-organ diseases.

Statistical analysis revealed that there is a significant association between the incidence of lung and cardiovascular end-organ diseases and the detection of HCMV in urine.

To study the effect of early interventions with anti-HCMV treatments, the team tracked the data of 54 “developing” stage HIV-1 patients who had been hospitalised at least once.

They were divided into three groups: those who received no anti-HCMV treatments, those who received treatments but not during each round of hospitalisation, and those who received treatments during all rounds of hospitalisation.

The data showed that those who received anti-HCMV treatments in all rounds of hospitalisation had the lowest incidence of lung and cardiovascular end-organ diseases. Furthermore, compared to those who had not received anti-HCMV treatments, the incidence of such end-organ diseases in patients who had received the treatments was reduced by half.

This suggests that continuous anti-HCMV treatments are effective in reducing the onset of lung and cardiovascular end-organ diseases in patients who are progressing towards AIDS.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×