Antibodies to HTLV-III and the lymphadenopathy syndrome in multitransfused beta-thalassemia patients.
Antibodies to HTLV-III have been investigated in 118 multitransfused beta-thalassemia patients. Thirteen patients (11.01%) were found to be positive; 3 of these 13 showed clinical and immunological signs of the lymphadenopathy syndrome. A retrospective study carried out on 65 sera has shown that at least 6 patients were negative 3 years before the present investigation. This is the first extensive study on HTLV-III infection in multitransfused beta-thalassemics. It suggests that these patients are at risk for the acquired immune deficiency syndrome and related diseases.
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D001803:Blood Transfusion; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D012306:Risk; D013789:Thalassemia / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral