[Reccomendations for the care of adults with Down's syndrome. Literature review]. / Recomendaciones para la atención a los adultos con síndrome de Down. Revisión de la literatura.

Over the years, the life expectancy for individuals with Down syndrome (DS) has increased significantly. This fact involves a higher risk for developing numerous medical conditions associated with the aging of adults with DS. A high level of awareness is required by the professional, due to the lack of clinical expressiveness and their higher pain threshold, often makes the diagnosis difficult. Health care professionals must be aware of the specific recommendations for the appropriate care of the adult population with DS. The aim of this article is to describe the most frequent comorbidities in adults with DS adults, to summarise the specific preventive recommendations after comparing the main guidelines published, and to evaluate them according to their specific needs.

[Prevalence of hepatitis C virus among HIV-infected patients in Area 2 of Madrid]. / Prevalencia de hepatitis C en población infectada por el VIH en el Area 2 de Madrid.

INTRODUCTION: The evolution of HIV infection, a rapid and fatal illness not long time ago, has become a chronic disease due to the implementation of new antiretroviral treatment. Therefore it is essential to focus on the management of concurrent illnesses such as chronic hepatitis C infection, specially as they share common routes of transmission. METHODS: A cross sectional survey was done to determine the prevalence of HIV and HCV coinfection, measuring different HIV and HCV variables among 651 HIV infected patients of a health area in Madrid. RESULTS: 500 patients (76.8%) were male and 151 female (23%). HCV serology was performed in all the patients and resulted positive in 45.7% (298) most of them drug users (84.8%). The CD4 cell count was lower in patients HIV-HCV coinfected compared to those HCV negative (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This study shows a high prevalence of HIV-HCV coinfection, mainly due to parenteral transmission. We emphasize the low percentage of coinfected patients treated with interferon and ribavirine which probably will increase in the future.