AIDS-like immunologic alterations in clinically unaffected drug users.

Peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations (PBLS) and HLA-DR phenotype have been evaluated in 30 IV drug users who were not affected by acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). A strongly significant reduction in helper/suppressor ratio was found in these subjects as compared to the control population. When the group under study was subdivided according to the presence or absence of signs of lymphadenopathy syndrome (LAS), the apparently unaffected individuals still had significant modifications in PBLS when compared with controls. These modifications were more marked in subjects within the LAS+ subgroup, who also showed a greater DR5 frequency than those belonging to the LAS- subgroup. The authors concluded that AIDS-like laboratory alterations are present in clinically unaffected IV drug users; the possible role of DR5 in conditioning different individual susceptibility is considered.