Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1983. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
The New York Times - July 10, 1983
Paul Bass
Most victims of the disease, known formally as acquired immune deficiency syndrome, have been male homosexuals or intravenous drug users.
The researchers at the hospital -Dr. John Dwyer and Dr. Bill Green -recently began looking for 1,000 healthy homosexual men to take part in a four-year study of the syndrome. The doctors are putting together an application to the National Institutes of Health for the funds that would enable them to make the study.
Homosexual organizations and individuals have already committed more than the needed number of participants, according to Dr. Dwyer, who is chief of clinical immunology at the Yale Medical School.
"We've been overwhelmed with support," he said. "This population is really scared by this disease." At least 1,641 people have been afflicted in the United States, and 644 have died. Four male AIDS patients have died at Yale-New Haven Hospital since January 1982, Dr. Dwyer said, and four patients now at the hospital have AIDS. In addition, he said, two other patients there are suspected of having it.
The Yale-New Haven researchers will compete with their counterparts at other hospitals for the money to perform the study, which will cost the N.I.H. several million dollars, Dr. Dwyer said.
He added that the study was sorely needed because the medical establishment did not understand very much about the early stages of the syndrome.
"We're not doing very well looking just at the end stages," Dr. Dwyer said. He said doctors needed to know, for instance, why certain AIDS patients first have swollen glands and then get cancer. Another problem is how much an individual has to be exposed to the disease before succumbing to it.
To learn more about such questions, Dr. Dwyer and Dr. Green hope to give physical examinations and blood tests every six months to the 1,000 participants in the study. They also plan to administer a detailed questionnaire about the participants' sexual practices and their life styles in general.
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