[AIDS--a further development]

Abstract

It has been recently established that AIDS is a virus infectious disease. HTLV-I essentially makes T4 lymphocytes malignant and induces their abnormal proliferation. However, on the way, when HTLV-I induces a decrease in the function of T4 lymphocytes, the symptoms of ARC or AIDS take place on occasion. HTLV-III/LAV possesses a central function to destroy T4 lymphocytes, but, when this function is blocked, it increases T4 lymphocyte proliferation. Accordingly, the concept of carriers of the AIDS virus and patients with AIDS-related complex or AIDS has been clarified. Simultaneously, it has been discovered that a multiplicity of amino acids exists on the envelope of isolated AIDS viruses, resulting in a variety of viral envelope antigenicities. This may support the presence of antigenic modulation, which might make the development of a vaccine more difficult. Therapy has been approached from the following points of view; blockers of reverse transcriptase, drugs for destroying the virus itself through the viral envelope, vaccination, replacement of patient's T4 lymphocytes with healthy bone marrow, and use of immunopotentiators.