Increasing CD8+ T lymphocytes predict subsequent development of intraoral lesions among individuals in the early stages of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus.
Determining the progression of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 infection based on cellular and clinical markers has become increasingly important. Although a number of studies have shown a relationship between the presence of certain oral lesions and progression to AIDS, few data exist regarding the association with T lymphocyte counts. In this study, the question of whether intraoral lesions preceded or were the consequences of changes in T lymphocyte counts was examined. A total of 116 HIV-infected patients participating in two randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials of zidovudine at the University of Minnesota AIDS Clinical Trials Unit (ACTU) were enrolled in a prospective dental study. Patients were examined for the presence of hairy leukoplakia, candidiasis, herpes simplex, herpes zoster, aphthae, atypical gingivitis, HIV-associated periodontitis, and necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, as well as other oral lesions, every 3 months for a maximum of four examinations over a 1-year period. T lymphocyte counts before and after each patient's oral examination were obtained. No significant differences were found at examination 1 for differences in gender, race, age, education, tobacco smoking status, ethanol consumption habits, duration in ACTU drug protocol, duration in dental study protocol, or mean T lymphocyte counts between individuals with or without oral lesions at any time in the dental study.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Melnick
S L
SL
Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55454-1015.
Hannan
P
P
Decher
L
L
Little
J W
JW
Rhame
F S
FS
Balfour
H H
HH
Volberding
P
P
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D002180:Candidiasis, Oral / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007972:Leukoplakia, Oral / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000150:complications*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012907:Smoking; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D014456:Ulcer / Q000150:complications