Curcuma longa and Boswellia serrata extract combination for hand osteoarthritis: an open-label pre-post trial.

CONTEXT: Osteoarthritis (OA) of the hand is a common painful musculoskeletal disorder with no cure. There is a need for an efficient and safe treatment to relieve OA pain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of a Curcuma longa and Boswellia serrata food supplement in addition to standard care on hand pain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This open-label, non-controlled, post-observational study was based on 232 patients suffering from hand pain with or without joint deformity. Patients received a medical prescription for a three-month treatment with a food supplement containing 89 mg of C. longa dry extract, 120 mg of B. serrata resin, and 1.8 µg vitamin D. Pain was evaluated on a 10-point visual analog scale (VAS). The number of painful hand joints, patient satisfaction, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs intake, and side effects were also recorded. RESULTS: Baseline pain intensity (regression coefficient ± SE: -0.19 ± 0.01, p < 0.0001) and the number of painful joints (regression coefficient ± SE: -0.022 ± 0.0029, p < 0.0001) decreased significantly throughout the 3 months treatment period. NSAIDs intake and topical drug application were significantly decreased by 64% (p < 0.0001) and 79% (p < 0.0001) after 12 weeks, respectively. Only 3/239 (1.3%) patients reported side effects probably related to the product. 80.3% were satisfied with the treatment and 75.5% wished to continue treatment. CONCLUSION: This is the first clinical trial showing that C. longa and B. serrata resin can relieve symptoms in patients with hand osteoarthritis. The study provides useful information for the design of a clinical trial including a broader population.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic situation on HIV care in Liège, Belgium.

BACKGROUND: Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated containment measures dramatically affected the health care systems including the screening of human immunodeficiency virus and the management people living with HIV around the world by making the access to preventive care services and specific medical monitoring more difficult. OBJECTIVE: Objective: To study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the holistic care of people living with HIV in Liège (Belgium). METHODS: Methods: In this retrospective observational study conducted in Liège University Hospital, we compared the out-patient follow-up of HIV-infected individuals as well as the number of new HIV diagnoses between 2019 and 2020 and between the different waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. RESULTS: Results: In 2020, when compared to 2019, we observed a significant decrease in the number of new HIV diagnoses, especially during the first wave of the pandemic, and in the number of consultations undertaken by sexual health services, psychologists and specialists in infectious diseases at our HIV clinic. We also observed a decrease in the number of viral load assays and blood CD4 + T-cells count analyses performed, although we found less patients with HIV plasma viral load above 400 copies per mL in 2020. Finally, we noted a significant reduction in terms of screening of our HIV-infected patients for hepatitis C, syphilis, colorectal and anal cancers and hypercholesterolemia. CONCLUSIONS: Conclusions: Our experience exhibits the deleterious impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the HIV care and the need to implement new strategies to guarantee its continuum.