title: [Usefulness of MT-2 assay to decide when to start anti-HIV therapy].
abstract: It is well known that the emergence of syncytium inducing (SI) variant correlates accelerated CD4 decline and disease progression during the course of HIV infection. We have conducted a clinical study to investigate whether or not detection of SI by MT-2 cells (MT-2 assay) can be a clinical marker to decide when to start anti-HIV therapy since 1995. We examined 483 blood samples obtained from 172 HIV-infected patients by the MT-2 assay. SI was detected from 20 patients. There were five untreated patients whose CD4 counts were 300/microliter or more. Anti-HIV combination therapies were started soon after detection of SI in all of them. We have followed their clinical courses for more than 4 years, so far, in three of them. Their CD4 counts and clinical courses were both stable. In contrast, in another patient who could not receive any anti-HIV therapy even though SI positive, decline of CD4 was very rapid (200/microliter/year) and the disease progressed to AIDS within one year as like other SI positive cases before the era of several approved anti-HIV drugs. According to these distinct prognosis, the MT-2 assay might be a useful clinical marker for deciding anti-HIV therapy at least in our limited cases.
authors.affiliation: AIDS Clinical Center, International Medical Center of Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sakaihachiya
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ida
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aizawa
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirabayashi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oka
mesh_terms: D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D006678:HIV / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000628:therapy* / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods