Exposure to human T-lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus and immunologic abnormalities in asymptomatic homosexual men
Article
Nicholson, JKA, McDougal, JS, Jaffe, HW et al. (1985). Exposure to human T-lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus and immunologic abnormalities in asymptomatic homosexual men
. Annals of Internal Medicine, 103(1), 37-42. 10.7326/0003-4819-103-1-37
Nicholson, JKA, McDougal, JS, Jaffe, HW et al. (1985). Exposure to human T-lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus and immunologic abnormalities in asymptomatic homosexual men
. Annals of Internal Medicine, 103(1), 37-42. 10.7326/0003-4819-103-1-37
Nicholson, JKA; McDougal, JS; Jaffe, HW; Spira, TJ; Kennedy, MS; Jones, BM; Darrow, WW; Morgan, M; Hubbard, M
abstract
Immunologic and serologic studies were done in 120 homosexual men who reportedly had no symptoms related to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Forty-nine men (41%) had antibody to the retrovirus human T-lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus (HTLV-III/LAV), and 37 (31%) had an abnormal T-cell subset ratio and other immunologic abnormalities. These abnormalities were almost exclusively confined to men seropositive for the retrovirus. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that exposure to HTLV-III/LAV was the single best predictor of T-cell (and other) immunologic abnormalities. Sexual practice, particularly receptive anal intercourse, predicted exposure to HTLV-III/LAV but was not independently related to T-cell abnormalities. The association of other microbial serologic findings with HTLV-III/LAV seropositivity or T-cell changes was a coincidental function of sexual activity. Immunologic abnormalities in asymptomatic homosexual men are mostly related to exposure to HTLV-III/LAV.
