title: HTLV-III antibody and T-cell subset ratios in haemophiliacs and their spouses.
abstract: 44% of 63 British patients with either haemophilia A or B were HTLV-III antibody positive (HTLV-VIII+). HTLV-III+ was more frequent in high factor VIII concentrate users and 75% of severely affected haemophilia A patients were HTLV-III+. All eight patients who were exposed to factor IX concentrate were HTLV-III-. 17 haemophilia A patients who received only British made factor VIII concentrate (average 12,000 units/year) were HTLV-III-. Two of 63 patients had evidence of a pre-AIDS type symptom complex and both were HTLV-III+. Information from a cohort of 21 Liverpool haemophiliacs suggests that HTLV-III was first introduced into this country in 1981. OKT4/T8 ratios were abnormal in 52% of 21 patients studied but this finding was not confined to either HTLV-III+ or HTLV-III- individuals. The spouses of 14 HTLV-III+ haemophiliacs were all HTLV-III-.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D017977:Deltaretrovirus / Q000276:immunology*; D005169:Factor VIII / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006467:Hemophilia A / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D002836:Hemophilia B / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D005169:Factor VIII