Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS: EPIDEMIOLOGY, BIOLOGY, AND SPECTRUM OF CLINICAL SYNDROMES
Radiology of AIDS. Federle MP et al, eds. New York, Raven, p. 1-20, 1988.. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ICDB/89655311 Bessen LJ; Hymes KB; Greene JB; New York Univ. Medical Center, 560 First Ave., New York, NY 10016
Abstract:
Since its first description in 1981, more than 35,000 persons in the United States and as many as 1 million persons worldwide have contracted AIDS. It is estimated that between 1 and 2 million persons in the United States already have been infected with the causative agent, HIV. Epidemiology, biology, and the spectrum of clinical syndromes associated with AIDS are reviewed, including the following topics: Centers for Disease Control classification of HIV infection, cases of HIV infection in the United States by risk group, immune defects in HIV-infected persons, presentations of opportunistic infections in AIDS (Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, cerebral toxoplasmosis, Cryptococcus neoformans, cryptosporidiosis, cytomegalovirus, disseminated Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare), HIV dementia, Kaposi's sarcoma and its staging, AIDS-related lymphoma, AIDS-related complex and some of its manifestations, and therapeutic approach to HIV infection. There is no definite therapy for persons infected by HIV. The earliest attempts at treatment of patients with AIDS involved various agents directed at immune system restoration. Some modest improvements were seen in some parameters (eg, skin-test reactivity and CD4+ cell population), but little evidence was seen for long-term clinical improvement. Several antiretroviral agents have been considered and are in various stages of testing (ie, AL-721, azidothymidine, phosphonoformate [Foscarnet], HPA-23, peptide T, ribavirin [Virazole], suramin, and alpha-interferon). Development of an effective vaccine may be rendered difficult by the antigenic heterogeneity of HIV and related viruses, and by the capacity for cell-to-cell spread of HIV through syncytial cell formation. Suggested target antigens might be the HIV envelope glycoprotein (gp120) and the transmembrane glycoprotein (gp41), both of which have neutralizing epitopes. (165 Refs)
Keywords: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/COMPLICATIONS/EPIDEMIOLOGY/ *MICROBIOLOGY/THERAPY AIDS-Related Complex/MICROBIOLOGY Cross-Sectional Studies Hodgkin's Disease/ETIOLOGY Human HIV/*PATHOGENICITY Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin's/ETIOLOGY Opportunistic Infections/COMPLICATIONS Risk Factors Sarcoma, Kaposi's/ETIOLOGY United States MONOGRAPH REVIEW REVIEW, TUTORIAL
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