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Background:The Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) flagship study of aging aimed to recruit 1000 individuals aged over 60 to assist with prospective research into Alzheimer's disease (AD). This paper describes the recruitment of the cohort and gives information about the study methodology, baseline demography, diagnoses, medical comorbidities, medication use, and cognitive function of the participants.

BackgroundTo determine if infectious disease events in HIV-infected patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) are a consequence of the restoration of pathogen-speci®c immune responses, a single-centre retrospective study of all HIV-infected patients commencing HAART prior to 1 July 1997 was undertaken to determine the incidence, characteristics and time of onset of disease episodes in HAART responders (decrease in plasma HIV RNA of > 1 log 10 copies/mL). MethodsBaseline and post-therapy changes in CD4 T-cell counts and HIV RNA were compared in patients with and without disease and delayed-type hypersensitivity responses to mycobacterial antigens were measured in selected patients. ResultsThirty-three of 132 HAART responders (25%) exhibited one or more disease episodes after HAART, related to a pre-existent or subclinical infection by an opportunistic pathogen. Disease episodes were most often related to infections by mycobacteria or herpesviruses but hepatitis C virus (HCV), molluscum contagiosum virus and human papilloma virus were also implicated. They were most common in patients with a baseline CD4 T-cell count of < 50/uL and occurred most often during the ®rst 2 months of therapy and when CD4 T-cell counts were increasing. Mycobacteria-and HCV-related diseases were associated with restoration of pathogen-speci®c immune responses. ConclusionsWe conclude that improved immune function in immunode®cient patients treated with HAART may restore pathogen-speci®c immune responses and cause in¯ammation in tissues infected by those pathogens. Key words: HAART, HIV, immune restorationReceived: 4 June 1999, accepted 13 September 1999 IntroductionWhile the immediate aim of using antiretroviral therapy is suppression of HIV replication, the ultimate aim is restoration or maintenance of protective HIV-speci®c and pathogen-speci®c immune responses. Treatment of immunode®cient patients with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) appears to restore pathogen-speci®c immune responses resulting in prevention or regression of diseases caused by opportunistic pathogens [1]. However, in some patients suppression of HIV replication by antiretroviral therapy and the resultant increase in blood CD4 T-cells is associated with in¯ammation in tissues infected by those pathogens. Thus, disease related to subclinical or pre-existent infections by Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) [2±4], M. tuberculosis (MTB) [5,6], Bacille Calmette±Guerin (BCG) [7], cytomegalovirus (CMV) [8±10], hepatitis B virus (HBV) [11,12], hepatitis C virus (HCV) [13] immunological response to HAART. Many of these disease episodes were associated with the presence of a pathogenspeci®c immune response and/or more exaggerated inammatory response than is usually present in patients with opportunistic infections. It has therefore been argued that the disease results from the effects of a restored immune response against the pathogen [2±7,10,11,13,14]. However, Michelet et al. have argued that`opportunistic infections' in patients treated...

Over 90% of prostate cancers over-express prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and these tumor cells may be accurately targeted for diagnosis by 68Ga-PSMA-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (68Ga-PSMA-PET/CT) imaging. This novel molecular imaging modality appears clinically to have superseded CT, and appears superior to MR imaging, for the detection of metastatic disease. 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT has the ability to reliably stage prostate cancer at presentation and can help inform an optimal treatment approach. Novel diagnostic applications of 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT include guiding biopsy to improve sampling accuracy, and guiding surgery and radiotherapy. In addition to facilitating the management of metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), 68Ga-PSMA can select patients who may benefit from targeted systemic radionuclide therapy. 68Ga-PSMA is the diagnostic positron-emitting theranostic pair with the beta emitter Lutetium-177 PSMA (177Lu-PSMA) and alpha-emitter Actinium-225 PSMA (225Ac-PSMA) which can both be used to treat PSMA-avid metastases of prostate cancer in the molecular tumor-targeted approach of theranostic nuclear oncology.

These findings demonstrate the significant impact of PET on the clinical management of patients with newly diagnosed oesophageal carcinoma, and on prognostic stratification of these patients.