thymosin and Mycobacterium-Infections

A 27-year-old previously healthy man with hemophilia presented with Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. The patient had several episodes of oral candidiasis followed by disseminated infection with Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare. He was not homosexual nor did he take illicit drugs, but he had been self-administering two to four monthly infusions of factor VIII concentrate for 7 years. In-vitro lymphocyte studies showed findings consistent with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome that had previously been reported only in homosexual men, drug addicts, and Haitian refugees. The cause of this syndrome is unknown, but the possibility that it is associated with a transmissible agent acquired through the use of blood products such as factor VIII concentrate must be considered.

Topics: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Adult; Antibodies, Viral; Clofazimine; Cytomegalovirus; Hemophilia A; Herpesvirus 4, Human; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Male; Mycobacterium avium; Mycobacterium Infections; Pneumonia, Pneumocystis; Thymosin; Toxoplasma; Transfer Factor