Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1986. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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United Press International - January 25, 1986
The announcement of the tests' result was made by Hiroyuki Mitsuya on Friday, the last day of an international conference on acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
Mr. Mitsuya is a member of an AIDS research group at the National Cancer Institute, which has been testing the treatment with Duke University in Durham, N.C.
In his group's report in Nagasaki to about 160 researchers from around the world, Mr. Mitsuya said the drug, azidothymidine, prevented the virus from reproducing in the body.
"It's not a dream drug," he said in a televised interview, adding that "it's a new medicine" requiring more testing.
Seven of the 15 people tested reported minor side effects, such as headaches. The treatment prevented further weight loss, a symptom associated with AIDS.
AIDS is caused by a virus that destroys the body's immune system, and its victims can die of a variety of infections. Scientists say it is spread through sexual relations or through infection by contaminated blood. The disease has mainly struck homosexual men and users of intravenous drugs.
As of last Monday 16,574 Americans had been diagnosed as having AIDS, of whom 8,423 had died. Nobody has recovered.
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