sodium-ethylxanthate and Transfusion-Reaction

Currently available tests for infection with the hepatitis C virus detect the presence of antibodies against the virus. The value of these tests is limited, however, because the appearance of antibodies may be delayed and because there is a significant rate of false-positive results. Supplementary tests now being developed should greatly facilitate diagnosis of hepatitis C. Patients with chronic liver disease due to the hepatitis C virus can be treated with interferon alfa-2b (Intron A). This treatment should also be considered for patients with markedly elevated transaminase levels, evidence of significant histologic injury, or symptoms referable to the liver.

Topics: Chronic Disease; False Positive Reactions; Hepatitis C; Humans; Interferon alpha-2; Interferon-alpha; Male; Recombinant Proteins; Sex; Transaminases; Transfusion Reaction

Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Deltaretrovirus; Female; Homosexuality; Humans; Male; Maternal-Fetal Exchange; Neoplasms; Pregnancy; Sex; Transfusion Reaction

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex (ARC) are thought to be caused by human T-cell leukemia/lymphotropic virus type III (HTLV-III). Since the fall of 1982, independent isolates of HTLV-III have been obtained in this laboratory, in collaboration with several clinical groups, from 101 AIDS and ARC patients and healthy donors at risk for AIDS. Most isolates were from peripheral blood T lymphocytes established in cell culture, but some were obtained from bone marrow, lymph node, brain tissue, and cell-free plasma and from cells associated with saliva, cerebrospinal fluid, and semen. Virus was isolated from approximately 50% of AIDS patients, 85% of ARC patients, and 30% of healthy individuals at risk for AIDS. The risk groups included homosexuals, promiscuous heterosexuals, i.v. drug users, recipients of blood or blood products, and spouses and offspring of AIDS patients and others at risk for AIDS. A high correlation was seen between persistent levels of serum antibody and the ability to isolate virus from patient or donor leukocytes. Immunologic and nucleic acid analysis demonstrated that the virus isolates were highly related, although substantial diversity was observed in the restriction enzyme cleavage patterns of those studied in detail. Biological analysis of cells from infected patients and donors as well as from normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells exposed to virus in vitro demonstrated that OKT4/Leu3a+ (helper/inducer) lymphocytes were preferentially infected and were subjected to a characteristic cytopathic effect. The availability of multiple isolates of virus from a number of different patients and donors will greatly facilitate the characterization of HTLV-III and the study of possible biological and/or biochemical variants of the virus responsible for the development of AIDS, ARC, and related diseases.

Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Carrier State; Child; Deltaretrovirus; Female; Hemophilia A; Homosexuality; Humans; Male; Marriage; Retroviridae Infections; Risk; Sex; Sex Work; Transfusion Reaction

From 1 June 1981 through 31 January 1984, 201 cases of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome were reported involving persons who could not be classified into a group identified to be at increased risk for this syndrome. Thirty-five had received transfusions of single-donor blood components in the 5 years preceding diagnosis of the syndrome and 30 were sexual partners of persons belonging to a high-risk group. Information was incomplete for most remaining patients, but because many of these patients were demographically similar to populations recognized to be at increased risk for the syndrome, previously identified risk factors may have been present but not reported for some of them. Additionally, a few persons who met the case definition for the syndrome probably had other reasons for their opportunistic disease and did not have the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The slow emergence of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in new populations is consistent with transmission mediated through sexual contact or parenteral exposure to blood.

Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; Demography; Female; Health Occupations; Homosexuality; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Male; Middle Aged; Pneumonia, Pneumocystis; Risk; Sarcoma, Kaposi; Sex; Substance-Related Disorders; Transfusion Reaction; United States