San Francisco Chronicle (SF); Friday, November 8, 1991
David Perlman, Chronicle Science Editor

"I do not have the AIDS disease," Johnson declared flatly and with a warm smile as he announced his immediate retirement from basketball to a crowd of reporters at the Inglewood Forum in Southern California.

And his team physician, Dr. Michael Mellman, insisted that the fatigue and flu- like symptoms that have sidelined the star during the Lakers' first few games this season are unrelated to his positive AIDS antibody test, which Johnson said was confirmed only on Wednesday.

Johnson is not taking any medication, Mellan said.

That is understandable, said Dr. Paul Volberding, who heads AIDS services at San Francisco General Hospital, because it can be months and sometimes even years before the first symptoms of disease become apparent after tests confirm infection by the human immunodeficiency virus.

Neither Mellman nor Dr. Esther Hays of UCLA, a blood and cancer specialist who attended the Johnson press conference, disclosed whether the internationally famed athlete had yet undergone any blood screening beyond the AIDS antibody test.

FURTHER TESTS

Analysis of Johnson's white blood cells would determine the present level of the white cells -- known as T-lymphocytes -- that are key elements of every human's immune system. T-cell counts of 800 or more indicate a well-functioning immune system, and a count that drops to 500 or less is usually a warning that it is time to start protective medication, according to Volberding, a professor at the University of California in San Francisco.

"It's fair to say that when T-cell counts do drop below 500, then medication with drugs like AZT and aerosol pentamidine can double or even triple the life expectancy of many people," Volberding said. "And that can mean many years."

AZT, also known as zidovudine, is an anti-viral compound, and pentamidine is used to prevent the onset of a form of pneumonia that is the most common and deadly of the many opportunistic AIDS infections.

Although Johnson is under no medication now, according to his doctors, some AIDS specialists believe that once HIV infection sets in, the immune system's gradually weakened state can lead fairly quickly to such symptoms as weight loss, diarrhea, swollen lymph nodes, persistent fatigue and anemia. These signs are known as ARC, for AIDS-related complex, and can be treated with drugs, but Mellman said yesterday that Johnson has none of those symptoms.

LONG-TERM STUDY

A long-running San Francisco research project analyzing blood from men whose samples were frozen and stored as long ago as 1978 have shown that some of those men were already infected with HIV at the time, and many of them are still alive -- proof that no one yet knows how long AIDS-infected people can live.

Neither Mellman nor Johnson offered any indication yesterday as to how the athlete might have become infected with HIV, but Johnson did say that his wife has already been tested for signs of the virus and that the tests are negative.

As he spoke of the immense changes that the AIDS virus will force in his own life, Magic said he now intends to become a spokesman for the campaign against AIDS, urging sexually active young people to practice "safe sex" and urging his colleagues in the sports world to seek HIV tests for themselves.

To that commitment Volberding said:

"I've seen a fair number of people who find that the stigma of the infection is the worst possible problem for them, but in Magic's case, we all have to admire his courage. So without trivializing his personal situation, I hope we can use him to reach thousands of people, both black and white, who will continue to look up to him and will follow his advice."

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1991. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

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