Introduction
HIV infection and antiretroviral therapy (ART) early in life may interfere with acquisition of peak bone mass, thereby increasing fracture risk in adulthood.
Methods
We conducted a cross-sectional study of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) in 30 HIV-infected African–American or Hispanic Tanner stage 5 men aged 20–25 on ART (15 perinatally infected and 15 infected during adolescence) and 15 HIV-uninfected controls.
Results
HIV-infected men were similar in age and BMI, but were more likely to be African–American (P = 0.01) than uninfected men. DXA-derived areal bone mineral density (aBMD) Z-scores were 0.4–1.2 lower in HIV-infected men at the spine, hip, and radius (all P < 0.05). At the radius and tibia, total and trabecular volumetric BMD (vBMD), and cortical and trabecular thickness were between 6 and 19% lower in HIV-infected than uninfected men (P <0.05). HIV-infected men had dramatic deficiencies in plate-related parameters by individual trabeculae segmentation (ITS) analyses and 14–17% lower bone stiffness by finite element analysis revealed. Differences in most HR-pQCT parameters remained significant after adjustment for race/ethnicity. No DXA or HR-pQCT parameters differed between men infected perinatally or during adolescence.
Conclusion
At an age by which young men have typically acquired peak bone mass, HIV-infected men on ART have lower BMD, markedly abnormal trabecular plate and cortical microarchitecture, and decreased whole bone stiffness, whether infected perinatally or during adolescence. Reduced bone strength in young adults infected with HIV early in life may place them at higher risk for fractures as they age.
Trichothiodystrophy describes a group of recessively inherited multisystem neuroectodermal disorders that takes its name from the characteristic feature of brittle, sulfur‐deficient hair. We describe two siblings with trichothiodystrophy due to a novel genotype. The maternal mutation (p.Arg722Trp) is a previously described pathogenic mutation in ERCC2 that has been shown to result in a severe phenotype, while the paternal mutation (c.1480‐1G > C) has not been previously reported. Our cases confirm the severe phenotype associated with the p.Arg722Trp mutation and expand the known genetic mutations associated with trichothiodystrophy by demonstrating a novel pathogenic mutation in ERCC2.
Screening electrocardiography (ECG) before initiation of propranolol for treatment of infantile hemangiomas (IH) is controversial. A retrospective chart review was conducted to assess the utility of pretreatment ECG in infants with IH starting propranolol. Although nearly half of the ECGs were abnormal, no contraindications to treatment were identified from screening ECG, and no association was found between any of the reported side effects and abnormal ECG. These results support previously published data, and in a larger cohort, providing further confirmation that pretreatment ECG is not necessary in most infants with IH.
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