Chicago Tribune (CT) - SUNDAY October 23, 1988 Edition: FINAL EDITION Section: TEMPO Page: 10 Word Count: 468
Michael L. Millenson

And when the virus does occur in semen, it is found not in the sperm cells that take part in reproduction, but only in the seminal fluid that they float in.

The discoveries, if validated by further research, seem likely to broaden the inquiry into how the AIDS virus is spread.

"The practical applications of this, at present, are limited, but the biological significance of it is very great," said Dr. John Phair, director of the AIDS center at Northwestern University Medical School.

"It gives us a tool to look at transmission dynamics, it gives us much more focus. Obviously, the majority of HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus which causes AIDS) is transmitted through semen."

A research team led by Dr. Bernard Poiesz of the State University of New York's health science center in Syracuse studied semen from about 500 men, primarily homosexuals. They found evidence of the virus in 20 percent of the semen samples, compared with 70 percent of a similar sampling five years ago.

Although the test may not be 100 percent accurate, the magnitude of the change is startling, the researchers say. If the AIDS virus is present in the blood, it should also be present in the seminal fluid, they explain, because both the fluid and the blood contain the white blood cells that the virus attacks.

"If we know the virus is only in the white cells, we might be able to reduce the actual transmission of the virus, either through heterosexual or homosexual sex," said Alan Landay, director of clinical immunology at Rush- Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center.

However, Dr. James Curran, director of the AIDS program for the federal Centers for Disease Control, urged caution in evaluating the research. Curran noted that Poiesz's work had not been presented at a scientific meeting or in a medical journal.

The low level of the AIDS virus in seminal fluid, said Curran, could be due to bias in the selection of the men sampled.

If the research is valid, there are other possible explanations for the data: drugs such as AZT, which is now being taken by many infected men, could have "sterilized" the seminal fluid; there may have been a change in the virus itself; or there may have been changes in the sexual habits of the men tested.

If those men were practicing "safe sex" by using condoms and making other alterations in behavior, they would be less likely to contract other sexually transmitted diseases. That, in turn, would lead to fewer disease- fighting white blood cells in their semen, meaning fewer cells for the AIDS virus to attack.

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