Serum levels of virus burden in early-stage human immunodeficiency virus type 1 disease in women

J Infect Dis. 1997 Apr;175(4):795-800. doi: 10.1086/513973.

Abstract

The fundamental clinical, viral, and immunologic features of early-stage human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) disease were examined in a seroprevalent cohort of 28 men and 14 women assessed longitudinally at three equally dispersed time points over a mean of 43 months. There were no gender differences in the relative risk of developing AIDS-defining end points or death. The median serum RNA levels assessed at the three study time points were 3.3-, 4.9-, and 1.5-fold lower, respectively, in women than in men. This suggests that while serum virus load may be as powerful a correlate of disease status in women as it is in men, the absolute values of the virus levels may be different in the 2 populations. These observations may have implications for the interpretation of levels of virus burden in women for the assessment of disease progression, transmission, and treatment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / virology*
  • Adult
  • DNA, Viral / blood
  • Female
  • HIV-1 / isolation & purification*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Sex Factors
  • Viremia / virology*

Substances

  • DNA, Viral