title: Accelerated CD4+ cell count decline in untreated HIV-1 patients points toward increasing virulence over the course of the epidemic.
abstract: Based on the assumption that the rate of CD4 cell count loss in treatment-naïve patients is correlated with the virulence of HIV-1, we evaluated 4616 patients. Patients who entered a German national database between 1985 and 1995 had a median annual CD4 cell count loss of 48 cells/μl, whereas those registered between 1999 and 2009 had a median annual CD4 cell count loss of 68 cells/μl (P < 0.001). This suggests that HIV-1 virulence has increased over the course of the epidemic.
authors.forename: Florian L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Brey
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Seybold
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kollan
authors.forename: Johannes R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Bogner
mesh_terms: D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D058872:Epidemics; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014774:Virulence