Effectiveness of text messaging interventions on prevention, detection, treatment, and knowledge outcomes for sexually transmitted infections (STIs)/HIV: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Rates of STIs continue to rise worldwide, and novel evidence-based interventions such as text messaging aimed at improving client services are needed. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate text messaging to support STI/HIV prevention and treatment interventions. METHODS: We included articles that reported findings from randomized controlled trials (RTCs) involving adults and youth who were at risk of acquiring (or who currently had) a STI and/or HIV, a text message and comparator intervention, and reported provided outcome data on adherence to STI/HIV treatments. Articles were excluded if they were not published in English. We only included studies that have full-text publications so certainty and risk of bias assessments could be performed. Eight databases were searched to retrieve articles published between 1996 and March 2017. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used and certainty of the evidence was assessed using GRADE. Effect estimates were pooled using a random effects model. RESULTS: A total of 35 RCTs were found, 6 of which were considered at low risk of bias. Eight studies found an increased association using text messaging in appointments attended compared to standard care (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.10). Participants receiving text messages had an increase in HIV testing compared to standard care (n = 6; OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.39 to 2.15). Ten text messaging RCTs measuring adherence using micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) pill counts has a non-significant association (OR 1.17, 95% CI 0.95-1.45) while five studies measuring adherence by self-report was found to be significant (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.28-2.11). CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness of text message interventions is equivocal. While text messaging has the potential to enhance the delivery of STI/HIV interventions, program planners are encouraged to evaluate any SMS intervention to ensure it is achieving the desired result. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42013006503.

Impact of salmonella infection on host hormone metabolism revealed by metabolomics.

The interplay between pathogens and their hosts has been studied for decades using targeted approaches, such as the analysis of mutants and host immunological responses. Although much has been learned from such studies, they focus on individual pathways and fail to reveal the global effects of infection on the host. To alleviate this issue, high-throughput methods, such as transcriptomics and proteomics, have been used to study host-pathogen interactions. Recently, metabolomics was established as a new method to study changes in the biochemical composition of host tissues. We report a metabolomic study of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection. Our results revealed that dozens of host metabolic pathways are affected by Salmonella in a murine infection model. In particular, multiple host hormone pathways are disrupted. Our results identify unappreciated effects of infection on host metabolism and shed light on mechanisms used by Salmonella to cause disease and by the host to counter infection.

Effect of antibiotic treatment on the intestinal metabolome.

The importance of the mammalian intestinal microbiota to human health has been intensely studied over the past few years. It is now clear that the interactions between human hosts and their associated microbial communities need to be characterized in molecular detail if we are to truly understand human physiology. Additionally, the study of such host-microbe interactions is likely to provide us with new strategies to manipulate these complex systems to maintain or restore homeostasis in order to prevent or cure pathological states. Here, we describe the use of high-throughput metabolomics to shed light on the interactions between the intestinal microbiota and the host. We show that antibiotic treatment disrupts intestinal homeostasis and has a profound impact on the intestinal metabolome, affecting the levels of over 87% of all metabolites detected. Many metabolic pathways that are critical for host physiology were affected, including bile acid, eicosanoid, and steroid hormone synthesis. Dissecting the molecular mechanisms involved in the impact of beneficial microbes on some of these pathways will be instrumental in understanding the interplay between the host and its complex resident microbiota and may aid in the design of new therapeutic strategies that target these interactions.

Inhibition of Salmonella host cell invasion by dimethyl sulfide.

We show that dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) inhibits Salmonella hilA expression and that this inhibition is stronger under anaerobiosis. Because DMSO can be reduced to dimethyl sulfide (DMS) during anaerobic growth, we hypothesized that DMS was responsible for hilA inhibition. Indeed, DMS strongly inhibited the expression of hilA and multiple Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1)-associated genes as well as the invasion of cultured epithelial cells. Because DMSO and DMS are widespread in nature, we hypothesize that this phenomenon may contribute to environmental sensing by Salmonella.