Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S H Weiss

Publications and source records attributed to S H Weiss.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

The AIDS epidemic.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1985

Screening test for HTLV-III (AIDS agent) antibodies. Specificity, sensitivity, and applications.

The third member of the human T-cell leukemia (lymphotropic) retrovirus family (HTLV-III) is a newly discovered retrovirus that has been closely associated with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In our application of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for HTLV-III antibodies, 72 (82%) of 88 patients with AIDS were positive, 14 (16%) were borderline, and two (2%) were negative. In contrast, only 1% of 297 volunteer blood donors were positive, 6% were borderline, and 93% were negative, demonstrating that this ELISA for HTLV-III antibodies is highly specific and sensitive for AIDS (excluding borderline results, 98.6% and 97.3%, respectively). Among persons at high risk for AIDS, 8% had borderline results, with positive and negative results readily distinguished as bimodal distributions that paralleled the temporal and geographic trends in AIDS. None of the 188 laboratory and health care employees working with patients with AIDS or their specimens were positive for HTLV-III antibodies, indicating that current precautions for health care workers appear adequate. This ELISA for HTLV-III antibodies will be a useful screening test among blood donors and populations at risk for AIDS, will aid in the diagnosis of suspected AIDS, and will help in defining the spectrum of diseases that are etiologically related to HTLV-III.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1985

Epidemiology of human T-lymphotropic virus type III and the risk of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

The discovery of human T-lymphotropic virus type III/lymphadenopathy-associated virus (HTLV-III/LAV) has opened a window to the understanding of the spectrum of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and related clinical syndromes. Analysis of risk factors for seropositivity has shown that HTLV-III is transmitted most efficiently via routes that involve close personal contact or parenteral exposure. Longitudinal studies have shown that HTLV-III infection has a long latent period. The prevalence of AIDS in different geographic areas and among different risk groups appears to depend in part on duration of exposure. Co-factors for AIDS outcome such as manner and route of exposure, underlying immune status, and host susceptibility are also likely to play a role in risk.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1985

HTLV-III exposure among drug users.

The Centers for Disease Control hierarchical classification of those at risk for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) underestimates the number of cases in which illicit drug use may play a role in the exposure to human T-cell leukemia virus type III. The immunosuppressive effects of nitrite inhalants are not sufficiently documented to elucidate their role as a cofactor in the development of AIDS. The currently available data on the immunosuppressive effects of self-administered parenteral drugs and their diluents indicate an associated elevation of immunoglobulin M, depressed helper/suppression T-cell ratios, and even damage to DNA. Illicit psychoactive drugs and their diluents may influence the virulence of the virus among parenteral drug users. An association between parenteral drug use and prostitution is not unexpected. Female prostitutes who use parenteral drugs may be at high risk for exposure to the virus and thus may transmit this infectious agent to their clients and their families.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1985

Antibodies reactive with human T cell leukemia viruses in the serum of hemophiliacs receiving factor VIII concentrate.

The third member of the family of T cell leukemia viruses (HTLV III) has been proposed as the primary etiologic agent of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). A high risk of AIDS has been reported among patients with hemophilia, particularly those with factor VIII deficiency who receive commercial clotting factor concentrates. In a prevalence survey conducted between September 1982 and April 1984, initial serum samples from 74% of hemophiliacs who had ever been treated with commercial factor VIII concentrate, 90% of those frequently treated with factor VIII concentrate, and 50% of those treated with both factor VIII and factor IX concentrates had antibodies reactive against antigens of HTLV III, compared with none of the hemophiliacs treated only with factor IX concentrate or volunteer donor plasma or cryoprecipitate. Two of the seropositive patients have developed AIDS-related illnesses, and a third patient died of bacterial pneumonia. One initially seronegative patient developed antibodies against HTLV III during the study and is currently well. The predominant antibody specificities appear directed against p24 and p41, the presumed core and envelope antigens of HTLV III, suggesting that factor VIII concentrate may transmit the p24 and p41 antigens of HTLV III. However, the presence of infectious retroviruses in clotting factor concentrates and the effectiveness of screening and viral neutralization procedures remain to be determined.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1985

Epidemiology of human lymphotrophic retroviruses: an overview.

The discovery of HTLV-I opened the way for the subsequent recognition of other human retroviruses. HTLV-I is linked to an aggressive T-cell cancer. The availability of a marker for the AIDS agent, HTLV-III, has substantially enhanced our ability to define the nature of the AIDS epidemic, its clinical and subclinical manifestations, and the spectrum of disease outcomes associated with this exposure. Of particular interest is the fact that there is substantial risk for AIDS and AIDS-related outcomes in virally infected individuals as detected by antibody positivity. The preliminary data from these well defined cohorts provide a basis for estimating the enormity of the AIDS epidemic as it is starting to emerge and provide an opportunity for the forward thinking health strategies necessary for dealing with a pandemic of such proportions.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1984

Determinants of retrovirus (HTLV-III) antibody and immunodeficiency conditions in homosexual men.

A cohort of homosexual men at high risk of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) was monitored to examine the relation between lifestyle, clinical conditions, T-lymphocyte subsets, and antibody to the AIDS-associated human retrovirus, human T-cell leukaemia virus III (HTLV-III). HTLV-III antibodies were present in 35 (53%) of the 66 subjects tested in June, 1982. 4 of the seronegative subjects had HTLV-III antibodies when re-tested one year later, a seroconversion rate of 1.2% per month. In the HTLV-III seropositive subjects, AIDS developed at a rate of 6.9% per year (minimum incidence of AIDS = 4.6% per year) and other clinical signs of immunodeficiency (lesser AIDS) at 13.1% per year. All 6 of the AIDS cases and at least 8 of the 10 lesser AIDS cases had detectable HTLV-III antibodies 1 week to 21 months before diagnosis. Of 24 other subjects with stable lymphadenopathy, 19 (79%) had or acquired HTLV-III antibodies. Lower helper T-cell counts were very closely related to HTLV-III seropositivity (r = -0.53, p = 0.0001), even in the 26 healthy subjects with no clinical abnormalities (r = -0.37, p = 0.07). In both univariate and multivariate analyses, the lifestyle risk factors for HTLV-III seropositivity were large number of homosexual partners (p less than or equal to 0.03) and receptive anal intercourse (p less than or equal to 0.03), with an apparent synergistic interaction between these two activities (chi 2 = 8.71, p = 0.003). These data suggest that frequent receptive anal intercourse with many homosexual partners predisposes to HTLV-III infection with the consequent emergence of lymphadenopathy and the various manifestations of lesser and fully fledged AIDS.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1984

Seroepidemiology of HTLV-III antibody in Danish homosexual men: prevalence, transmission, and disease outcome.

Sera taken from 250 Danish homosexual men in December 1981 as part of a prospective study of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were examined for the presence of HTLV-III antibody with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Antibody was present in 22 (8.8%) of the men. Seropositivity was most strongly associated with sexual exposure to men in the United States (relative risk 3.5; p less than 0.007). Increased frequency of anal receptive intercourse was also independently associated with seropositivity (p less than 0.05), but age, years of homosexual experience, number of homosexual partners, and use of nitrite inhalant were not independent risk factors. The frequency of seroconversion from absence to presence of HTLV-III antibody appeared to be about 1% a month in this community during December 1981 to February 1983. Of the 22 men who were originally seropositive, two (9%) subsequently developed AIDS as defined by the Centre for Disease Control and two (9%) others the AIDS related complex. Blood was taken in addition from two of the men to develop AIDS earliest in Denmark (diagnosed 1981) at the same time as the initial survey in 1981; both were seropositive. The spread of HTLV-III from high to low risk areas and the subsequent appearance of illnesses related to AIDS in the seropositive group support the hypothesis that HTLV-III is causally related to the development of AIDS.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Herpes simplex type II and Mycoplasma genitalium as risk factors for heterosexual HIV transmission: report from the heterosexual HIV transmission study.

OBJECTIVES: Two hundred twenty-four human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) discordant couples (one HIV negative, one HIV positive) were compared with 78 seroconcordant heterosexually infected couples with HIV with regard to sexually transmitted diseases. METHODS: Serologic testing and cultures were used to determine exposure of participants to sexually transmitted pathogens. These data were compared with HIV concordance of partners to investigate possible risk factors for HIV transmission. RESULTS: Syphilis, chlamydia, and hepatitis B virus (HBV) serologies did not distinguish between concordant and discordant couples nor did cultures for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Trichomonas or Chlamydia enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Risk of transmission increased with positive serologies for herpes simplex virus (HSV)-2 (P = 0.002), cytomegalovirus (CMV) (P = 0.04), and Mycoplasma genitalium (P = 0.01), but not with Mycoplasma fermentans or Mycoplasma penetrans. Cytomegalovirus was not a significant risk factor when controlled for HSV-2 status. Examination by partner status showed increased risk of concordance with: HSV-2 positive serology in both partners (odds ratio [OR] = 3.14; confidence interval [CI] = 1.62-6.09; P = 0.007); HSV-2 in female secondary partner (OR = 2.10; CI = 1.12-3.93; P = 0.02) or the male primary partner (OR = 2.15; CI = 1.15-4.02; P = 0.017); M. genitalium antibody in both partners (OR = 3.44; CI = 1.68-7.04; P < 0.001); M. genitalium antibody in the primary male partner (OR = 2.51, CI = 1. 27-4.91; P = 0.008) and M. genitalium antibody in the secondary female partner (OR = 2.52; CI = 1.21-5.23; P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These data support the role of HSV-2 in transmission of HIV and, for the first time, suggest a role for M. genitalium as an independent risk factor.

Adult↗