AIDS Clinic Research Articles

Low serum cobalamin levels occur frequently in the acquired immune deficiency syndrome and related disorders.

Low serum cobalamin levels in 10 patients with AIDS or AIDS-related complex led us to also prospectively survey 40 homosexual men in our AIDS clinic. 8 of the latter (20%) had low cobalamin values. We found no evidence of megaloblastic changes in the blood or bone marrow. Assessment disclosed malabsorption of cobalamin in only 1 of 6 cases tested for it. 6 of the patients were treated with cobalamin and had no hematologic response. It appears that low serum cobalamin levels in AIDS and related disorders do not usually represent overt cobalamin deficiency. While malabsorption is occasionally responsible for the low cobalamin level, in most cases the cause is unknown and may reflect a serum abnormality similar to that in multiple myeloma. AIDS and related disorders should be considered in the differential diagnosis of unexplained low cobalamin levels.

Isolated thrombocytopenia in homosexual men--longitudinal follow-up.

One of the most clinically challenging, yet infrequently discussed, of the AIDS-associated syndromes is the problem of immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). ITP is a diagnosis more frequently encountered in its acute form in children following viral infections and in its chronic presentation in middle-aged women. Morris et al published their account of auto-immune thrombocytopenic purpura in homosexual men in June 1984(1). Their manuscript described a cluster of ITP in 12 homosexual men with backgrounds similar to those recognized in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Subsequently the problem has also been recognized in narcotics addicts and hemophiliacs without other manifestations of AIDS(2,3). To date, 32 homosexual men with isolated thrombocytopenia of immune origin have been evaluated in the AIDS Clinic at San Francisco General Hospital. Our experience with this group constitutes the basis of the following discussion.KeywordsAcquire Immunodeficiency SyndromeImmune Thrombocytopenic PurpuraPneumocystis Carinii PneumoniaElevated Erythrocyte Sedimentation RatePrednisone TherapyThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Oklahoma's Optical Aids Clinic

Oklahoma's Optical Aids Clinic