2020
DNA methylation mediates the effect of cocaine use on HIV severity
Shu C, Justice AC, Zhang X, Wang Z, Hancock DB, Johnson EO, Xu K. DNA methylation mediates the effect of cocaine use on HIV severity. Clinical Epigenetics 2020, 12: 140. PMID: 32928285, PMCID: PMC7491141, DOI: 10.1186/s13148-020-00934-1.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsHIV-positive participantsHIV severityVACS IndexCocaine useCocaine effectsVeterans Aging Cohort Study Biomarker CohortVeterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) IndexEpigenome-wide associationHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) progressionHigher VACS indexFrequent cocaine useCandidate CpG sitesPersistent cocaine useMendelian randomization analysisHIV outcomesBiomarker cohortHIV progressionVirus progressionVAC indexVeteran populationAntiviral responseCandidate mediatorsStudy indicesMR analysisSeverity
2014
The VACS Index Accurately Predicts Mortality and Treatment Response among Multi-Drug Resistant HIV Infected Patients Participating in the Options in Management with Antiretrovirals (OPTIMA) Study
Brown ST, Tate JP, Kyriakides TC, Kirkwood KA, Holodniy M, Goulet JL, Angus BJ, Cameron DW, Justice AC, . The VACS Index Accurately Predicts Mortality and Treatment Response among Multi-Drug Resistant HIV Infected Patients Participating in the Options in Management with Antiretrovirals (OPTIMA) Study. PLOS ONE 2014, 9: e92606. PMID: 24667813, PMCID: PMC3965438, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092606.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsVACS IndexCombination antiretroviral therapyNet reclassification improvementHIV biomarkersCause mortalityC-statisticTreatment interventionsMulti-drug resistant HIVHarrel's c-statisticsRespective hazard ratiosKaplan-Meier estimatesProportional hazards modelImproved scoresAntiretroviral studiesAntiretroviral therapyHazard ratioResistant HIVReclassification improvementRestricted IndexTreatment responseStudy interventionRisk scoreHazards modelVAC indexMortalityThe VACS Index Predicts Mortality in a Young, Healthy HIV Population Starting Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy
Bebu I, Tate J, Rimland D, Mesner O, Macalino GE, Ganesan A, Okulicz JF, Bavaro M, Weintrob AC, Justice AC, Agan BK. The VACS Index Predicts Mortality in a Young, Healthy HIV Population Starting Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy. JAIDS Journal Of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes 2014, 65: 226-230. PMID: 24226058, PMCID: PMC4091811, DOI: 10.1097/qai.0000000000000045.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsVACS IndexActive antiretroviral therapyCause mortalityAntiretroviral therapyHIV populationVeterans Aging Cohort Study (VACS) IndexActive antiretroviral therapy (HAART) initiationAntiretroviral therapy initiationPrediction of mortalityGood discriminationNHS subjectsTherapy initiationDifferent time pointsStudy cohortSimilar patientsClinical variablesEarly risk assessmentMedical historyVAC indexHealthy populationMortalityStudy indicesOutcome predictionTime pointsLaboratory data