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participating institutions:
Johns Hopkins University AIDS Service, New York State DOH AIDS Institute, The CORE Center, Cook County Hospital



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Herpes Zoster as an Immune Reconstitution Disease after Initiation of Combination Antiretroviral Therapy in Patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 Infection [Domingo P et al. Am J Med 2001; 110: 605]:The investigators from Barcelona report their experience with 316 patients who initiated HAART; of these, 24 (8%) developed herpes zoster within 17 weeks of starting therapy. These cases were compared to a control group of 96 patients on HAART, without zoster, and matched by age, HIV RNA level and CD4 count. The major difference between the two groups was the increase in CD8 cells, a mean of 347/mm3 in the zoster group compared to a mean of 54/mm3 in the control group (P=0.0006). The authors conclude that HAART therapy is often associated with the development of herpes zoster within four months and that the risk correlates with the rebound in CD8 cells.
posted 6/14/2001





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