Infants fed formulas containing probiotics or synbiotics show a similar rate in weight gain compared with those fed a control formula and tolerate these formulas well.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the safety, tolerance and preventive effect on atopic dermatitis of an experimental a-lactalbumin-enriched and symbiotic-supplemented infant formula. A total of ninety-seven non-breastfed term neonates were enrolled into a double-blind, multicentre, randomised controlled trial in which they received experimental (n 48) or standard formula (n 49) for 6 months. The primary outcome was weight at 6 months of age. Secondary outcomes were gastrointestinal tolerance and manifestation of atopic dermatitis. Faecal secretory IgA (SIgA) concentration and microbiota composition of forty-three infants were analysed at 1 and 6 months. Growth was similar in both groups. At 1 month, compared to those in the control group, infants in the experimental group exhibited less crying or agitation, and more quiet behaviour (P¼0·03). At 6 months, atopic dermatitis was less frequently observed in the experimental group (P,0·05). Decrease of faecal SIgA concentration between 1 and 6 months was mainly observed in the control group. This decrease was significantly associated with atopic dermatitis (P,0·014) and negatively correlated to the level of colonisation by bifidobacteria (P,0·005). In conclusion, compared to the control formula, the experimental formula guaranteed a similar growth, was better tolerated at 1 month and had a protective effect against the development of atopic dermatitis.

A woman with extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis treated with a drug regimen including linezolid and bedaquiline during her last 3 weeks of pregnancy gave birth to a child without abnormalities. No fetal toxicities were noted by 2 years after delivery. This drug combination might be safe during the late third trimester of pregnancy.

We evaluated the safety and efficacy of a twice daily regimen containing 400 mg of indinavir and 100 mg of ritonavir in 32 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women during pregnancy. The median indinavir trough concentration was 208 ng/ml during the third trimester. At delivery, 26 of 28 women on indinavirritonavir had HIV RNA levels of <200 copies/ml. No infant was HIV infected. These data are encouraging for the use of this combination for prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.Protease inhibitor (PI)-based combinations are the current standard of care for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected pregnant women in France (18). Published data describing indinavir (IDV) pharmacokinetic parameters for pregnant women are limited and suggest that IDV plasma concentrations may be suboptimal in pregnant women taking standard doses of IDV (7; D. Wara, R. Tuomala, and Y. Bryson, presented at the 2nd Conference on Global Strategies for the Prevention of HIV Transmission from Mothers to Infants, Montreal, Canada, 1999). Thus, use of unboosted IDV should be avoided during pregnancy (12, 15). We have previously shown the good efficacy and tolerability of a twice daily (BID) regimen containing 400 mg of IDV and 100 mg of ritonavir (hereafter referred to as IDV/r 400/100 mg BID) in patients switching from a standard IDV-containing regimen (6) and in patients initiating a first-line treatment (4). The objective of this study was to describe, in terms of effects on mothers and newborns, the safety and tolerability of and responses to an IDV/r 400/100 mg BID regimen during the antenatal period in HIV-1-infected pregnant women.In a prospective, observational, pilot, open-label, single-center, noncomparative study, the efficacy and tolerability of a triple combination of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and IDV/r 400/100 mg BID were evaluated for consecutive HIV-1-infected women in whom pregnancy was diagnosed before the third trimester. The patients were followed monthly with clinical examinations and biological assessments, including plasma HIV RNA (lower limit of quantification [LOQ], 200 copies/ml; Amplicor HIV monitor kit; Roche, Meylan, France) and CD4 cell counts. Steady-state IDV plasma trough concentrations (C trough values) were determined during the third trimester by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with UV detection (LOQ, 5 ng/ml) (17). IDV C trough was determined during the month following delivery for a subset of women. The expected efficient IDV C trough was 120 ng/ml (1).The mode of delivery was determined according to plasma viral load (VL), obstetrical history, and personal decision. All women received intravenous zidovudine (ZDV) infusions initiated during labor or 2 h before elective caesarean section, and newborns received a 6-week course of ZDV (0.2 mg/kg of body weight four times a day), as recommended by French guidelines (18). All women received counseling on the risk of HIV-1 transmission through breastfeeding, and no woman reported breastfeedi...

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