Reductions in viral load and increases in T lymphocyte numbers in treatment-naive patients with advanced HIV-1 infection treated with ritonavir, zidovudine and zalcitabine triple therapy.

In order to test the hypothesis that a combination of protease inhibitors with nucleoside analogues-agents known to inhibit different steps of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) life cycle--is likely to prove more effective in reducing viral loads than either of those modalities alone, we performed a 60 week, open-label trial in 32 HIV-positive patients with depressed CD4 T lymphocyte cell counts but no active AIDS-defining illnesses. For the first 2 weeks, patients received 600 mg twice daily of liquid ritonavir, a protease inhibitor; then zidovudine 200 mg three times daily and zalcitabine 0.75 mg three times daily were added to the treatment regimen.

Cryptococcus neoformans antibody levels in patients with AIDS.

Anti-Cryptococcus neoformans capsular polysaccharide (CPS) antibodies were measured by ELISA in patients with AIDS related complex or AIDS without a known history of cryptococcosis and in heterosexual healthy controls. Total and IgG anti-CPS antibody activity was rarely detected in patients, with mean levels lower than in controls, whereas IgM antibody activity was similar in the 3 groups. Since both humoral and cellular immunity appear to be of great importance during cryptococcosis, the inability of AIDS patients to synthetize specific IgG antibodies could impair an alternative host defence mechanism to cellular immunity.

[Hepatic involvement in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Study of 20 cases].

Liver biopsies were systematically performed in 20 patients with evidence of an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (18 with opportunistic infections, 9 with Kaposi's sarcoma). Hepatitis, related to hepatitis-B virus in 3 cases and to cytomegalovirus in 3 cases, was present in 6 of them. All patients had at least one of the three following lesions: non-specific portal inflammatory infiltration (6 cases), granulomatous lesions (12 cases), vascular abnormalities (12 cases).

[Cost of transfusion in AIDS. Experience at the Claude-Bernard Hospital apropos of 28 cases].

The study of 28 confirmed cases of AIDS shows that transfused patients use a large amount of hospital's blood products, especially platelets. For these patients, the average cost of transfusion is higher than that, for intensive care unit patient's. The use of irradiated products increases the cost (+ 35%).