title: Prevalence of toxoplasma encephalitis in AIDS patients treated with Didanosine hospitalised in a French infectious service.
abstract: In a previous work, we have showed in mice infected with an avirulent strain of Toxoplasma gondii and receiving a didanosine treatment, an important decrease of brain cysts. It is why, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of didanosine treatment on AIDS patients having developed Toxoplasma encephalitis. 60 patient reports were analyzed: 22 patients (group 1) did not received didanosine in their antiretroviral treatment and 38 (group 2) were treated with didanosine. The results showed that an antiretroviral therapy was prescribed for 93% of patients, 50% of them received only zidovudine and protease inhibitors were prescribed for 37%. The regimens given most frequently were those including zidovudine plus lamivudine or zidovudine plus indinavir. Among the group 1, 18% have had a relapse of Toxoplasma encephalitis. In the group 2, 37% of the patients suffered from one episode of TE while 16% have had two TE after the pause in their didanosine treatment, the maximum occurring between 4 and 24 months after the pause of didanosine. This study showed that didanosine seems to have an effect on cerebral cysts. Also, this work made a synthesis about the different treatment used in AIDS patients and the new molecules yet in development against T. gondii.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Medical Mycology, EA 37h1, Claude-Bernard University, 8 av. Rockefeller 69373 Lyon 08-France. sarciron@univ-lyon1.fr
authors.forename: Marie-Elisabeth
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Sarciron
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ghérardi
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delorme
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Peyramond
authors.forename: Anne-Françoise
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Pétavy
mesh_terms: D017088:AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D016049:Didanosine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016781:Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; D018894:Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors; D016049:Didanosine