The acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Although the etiologic agent of AIDS has been identified, clinicians are still left with treating the complications of this immune deficiency, that is, the unusual neoplasms such as KS and the myriad of opportunistic infections. Efforts at immune reconstitution, including bone marrow transplantation from a normal identical twin to his brother with AIDS, have been unsuccessful. The transplanted lymphocytes are as likely to become infected as the patient's own. Therefore, future efforts must be directed at defining the natural history and infectivity of individuals showing evidence of HTLV III or LAV infection and toward specific antiviral therapy for those with infection and a vaccine for those at high risk for HTLV III infection and, consequently, AIDS.