Relationship of clinical and immunological abnormalities in haemophilia A to F VIII therapy and HIV exposure: A longitudinal study

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Abstract
This study was established to examine the longitudinal consequences of F VIII therapy on immune function in 24 patients with haemophilia A. Antibodies to the human immunodefiency virus (HIV) were found in 15 of 16 patients with severe haemophilia and in 2 of 8 patients with mild disease. The principal clinical and immunological abnormalities were restricted to the HIV antibody‐positive patients: T helper cell lymphopenia (< 0.55 × 109/l) in 10 patients, persistent glandular lymphadenopathy in 4 patients and depressed response to skin recall antigens in 7 of 9 HIV‐positive patients tested. Although no extension of these immunological and clinical abnormalities developed in the 18‐month period of monitoring, T helper cell counts and platelet counts were significantly lower in a group of patients with established long duration HIV seropositivity (since 1982/1983) in comparison with the remaining seropositive patients. This suggests that a progressive pathological process is associated with infection by this virus, but the factors which determine the long‐term sequelae are still unknown.