title: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha levels in patients with HIV with wasting in South Asia.
abstract: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha is thought to play an important role in wasting; but TNF-alpha levels have not been consistently found to be high in AIDS wasting. We conducted this study to determine any correlation between TNF-alpha levels and wasting in HIV-positive patients in a developing country. TNF-alpha levels were measured in four groups of patients: Group 1, HIV/AIDS with wasting (n = 25); group 2, HIV/AIDS without wasting (n = 47); group 3, HIV-negative patients with tuberculosis with wasting (n = 25); and group 4, healthy controls (n = 25). Wasting was defined as a body bass index (BMI) </=16.0 kg/m(2). TNF-alpha was measured by a solid-phase sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. The mean BMI in HIV-positive patients with wasting (group 1) and without wasting (group 2) was 15.192 +/- 1.142 and 19.507 +/- 2.457, respectively, while group 3 and 4 had a BMI of 14.878 +/- 3.234 and 21.862 +/- 2.763 kg/m(2). The mean TNF-alpha level in group 1 was 50.864 +/- 99.13 pg/mL and 43.39 +/- 66.372 pg/mL in group 2. There was no significant difference between the two groups. TNF-alpha was significantly higher in the HIV/AIDS groups (group 1 and 2) compared to the tuberculosis group (10.74 +/- 7.854) and healthy controls (5.846 +/- 3.40) at p = 0.01. TNF-alpha was significantly (p = 0.002) higher in symptomatic patients compared to asymptomatic patients (16.03 +/- 7.61 versus 64.70 +/- 98.70). In conclusion, TNF-alpha levels were higher in HIV patients, regardless of the presence of wasting, compared to normal healthy controls of patients with tuberculosis with wasting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. naveetwig@vsnl.com
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wig
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Anupama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Handa
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Dwivedi
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Jailkhani
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Wali
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D019247:HIV Wasting Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011336:Probability; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution; D015996:Survival Rate; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha