AEGiS-AP: IMMUNE DISEASE: A NEW TEST?

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1983. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

IMMUNE DISEASE: A NEW TEST?

The Associated Press - Tuesday, March 8, 1983

The discovery of a hormone imbalance associated with an often-fatal disease that was first observed among homosexuals two years ago may eventually lead to a simple test to reveal its presence quickly in patients and to prevent its spread through blood transfusions, a researcher said yesterday.

The discovery also suggests that the disease, called Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS, may be caused by a recently identified human cancer virus.

More than 400 people have died of the disease and more than 1,100 have contracted it, Federal health officials say.

According to a report presented yesterday at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans, AIDS patients and people at risk for the disease have higher-than-normal levels of a hormone called thymosin alpha-1 in their bloodstreams.

Because the hormone can be measured with a simple blood test, it could serve as an inexpensive way to identify people with AIDS or those likely to get it, according to Allan Goldstein of the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington.

HORMONES; HOMOSEXUALITY; MEDICINE AND HEALTH
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AP830301

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