title: Baseline thymic volume is a predictor for CD4 T cell repopulation in adult HIV-infected patients under highly active antiretroviral therapy.
abstract: The objective of the present study was to assess the impact of baseline thymic volume on the CD4 cell repopulation induced by highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in HIV-infected adults. Therefore, 37 previously untreated HIV-1-infected adults were prospectively followed from August 1998 to September 2001. All patients underwent a thorax CT scan at starting HAART to measure thymic volume. The median follow-up time was 189 [87.5-498.5] days. CD4 cell repopulation was considered as an increase > or = 200 cells/mm3 above baseline count. Twenty-one (57%) patients achieved this CD4 repopulation. Baseline thymic volume was the main independent factor associated with CD4 repopulation (P = 0.016); this factor was a positive predictor (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.25 [95% confidence interval 1.1-1.4]). Although, CD4 cell count and non-AIDS diagnosis at baseline were associated with CD4 cell repopulation on the univariate analysis (P = 0.03 and P = 0.02, respectively), no statistical signification was found on the multivariate test. In summary, baseline thymic volume is a predictor of early CD4 cell repopulation in adult HIV-1-infected patients taking HAART.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Virgen del Rocio University Hospital, Seville, Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de la Rosa
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leal
authors.forename: Amalia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinez-Moya
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: Ezequiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruíz-Mateos
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Merchante
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Quijano
authors.forename: Lissen
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Eduordo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006678:HIV / Q000502:physiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009928:Organ Specificity; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents