Photopheresis and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection: The Annals Views Preliminary Reports

Excerpt

This issue contains a preliminary report (1) describing a possible beneficial effect of extracorporeal photopheresis in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related complex. The justification for the experiment was the known inactivating effect of psoralens and long-wavelength ultraviolet A light on both DNA and RNA viruses, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (2). In addition, photopheresis was found recently to be beneficial in the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a CD4 cell tumor (3).

As described in the report by Bisaccia and colleagues (1), patients were given the photosensitizer, 8-methoxypsoralen, orally; 2 hours later, after absorption and distribution of the