Summary
The reliability of laboratory parameters for the prediction of impending manifestion of AIDS in HIV-1 infected patients was investigated. Over a mean observation period of approximately 1 year (5 to 33 months) 56 patients were studied. Eleven patients progressed to AIDS (group 1) and 45 remained free of AIDS-defining disease (group 2). Eight candidate-predictor variables were measured on each patient at the beginning of the observation period: neopterin, hemoglobin, lymphocytes, CD4 counts, CD8 counts, platelets, gammaglobulins, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. In a linear discrimination analysis, a stepwise entry of these parameters into the discriminant function was effected according to which variable added most to the separation into groups 1 and 2. Neopterin proved to be most discriminating with no improvement of separation when adding further variables. Thus, a final allocation rule was computed using neopterin alone. This rule assigns neopterin levels above 21.9 nmol/l to group 1 and levels below to group 2. We conclude, tentatively, that in HIV-infected patients neopterin levels of 22 nmol/l and over may indicate the manifestation of AIDS in the year to come.
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Abbreviations
- AIDS:
-
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
- ARC:
-
AIDS-related complex
- CD:
-
Clusters of leukocyte differentiation
- CDC:
-
Centers of Disease Control
- CMV:
-
Cytomegalovirus infection
- ELISA:
-
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
- GTP:
-
Guanosine triphosphate
- HIV:
-
Human immunodeficiency syndrome (=HIV-1 in this paper)
- IVD:
-
Intravenous drug abuser
- KS:
-
Kaposi's sarcoma
- PGL:
-
Persistent generalized lymphadenopathy
- PcP:
-
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia
- SD:
-
Standard deviation
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Bogner, J.R., Matuschke, A., Heinrich, B. et al. Serum neopterin levels as predictor of AIDS. Klin Wochenschr 66, 1015–1018 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01733445
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01733445