[Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). An update after 4 years]

At the end of December 1984, 8246 AIDS cases had been reported in the United States, and 762 cases in Europe. The main risk groups are homosexual and bisexual men (73%), heterosexual i.v. drug addicts (17%) and Haitians (4%). AIDS is diagnosed in patients meeting the clinical criteria of the CDC surveillance definition (opportunistic infections and/or Kaposi's sarcoma). The prevalence of HTLV-III antibodies in risk groups is high, its prognostic significance still controversial. Laboratory methods to determine the more relevant circulating viral proteins or the whole virus are now being developed. Limited studies to evaluate the possibility of reconstituting the immune system of AIDS patients with interleukin-2 and gamma-interferon have proved unsuccessful. successful. Several new drugs with possible antiviral properties are now being evaluated in first clinical trials.