Science / Medicine : AIDS Takes Toll on Infants Faster

Infants who have been infected with the AIDS virus while still in the womb tend to succumb far faster than adults with the deadly disease, according to a research group led by Dr. Gwendolyn Scott of the University of Miami School of Medicine.

In a study of 172 children who developed AIDS, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Scott’s group found that slightly more than half the babies showed symptoms within their first year, and nearly eight out of 10 became sick with an AIDS-related affliction by their second birthday.

The disease had killed half the children before the age of 3. Some adults infected with AIDS live 10 years or longer.

The study is part of an attempt by doctors to understand the development of AIDS in young children so they can be treated as quickly as possible. This goal is complicated by the fact that infants born to infected mothers often test positive for AIDS even though they are not infected because of antibodies from their mother in their blood.

But the antibodies themselves are harmless, and about 50% to 70% of newborns who test positive are actually healthy. The dilemma for doctors is that if they rush to treat a child who tests positive they may be giving a potentially toxic treatment to a healthy child.