MAGIC REAPPEARS : Experts Claim Return Poses No Medical Risk

Magic Johnson’s return to the Lakers will be watched closely by medical experts trying to learn more about the effects of strenuous exercise on the progression of an HIV infection.

“We never got a chance to perform that experiment,” said Michael Mellman, one of Johnson’s physicians. “Certainly what he has been doing to date does not qualify for an NBA schedule.”

Johnson, 36, one of basketball’s all-time stars, signed with the Lakers on Monday and will return at the Forum tonight against the Golden State Warriors.

His announcement was welcomed by AIDS experts, who said there is no known medical risk involved with playing. They expressed hope that Johnson’s presence in the NBA will increase society’s awareness of the disease and cast others fighting the infection in a more favorable light.

“This is exciting and inspiring,” said Michael Gottlieb, a nationally known AIDS expert from Los Angeles. “He’s doing something special.”

Said Leonard Calabrese, director of Clinical Immunology at the Cleveland Foundation Clinic, “Being HIV-infected is not an immediate death sentence. We’re more confident this doesn’t produce any dangers around him.”

Johnson will play in his first regulation NBA game since June 12, 1991. He retired shortly before the start of the 1991-92 season after testing positive for the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.

Johnson said he is not concerned about the kind of negative reactions that he experienced during a brief comeback attempt in the 1992-93 exhibition season.

He said competing on his worldwide exhibition tour has helped allay those fears.

“If you play against players all summer, there’s no difference with playing against them in a game,” he said after the Lakers’ practice on Monday.

Since his first comeback, the NBA has instituted an intense educational program to teach its players about the realities and myths of HIV transmission.

Still, some fear remains.

Greg Louganis disclosed last year that he was HIV-positive when he won a gold medal in diving during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. He suffered a head wound during one of his dives and was treated by a U.S. team physician who did not know Louganis was sick.

Although many reacted negatively to Louganis’ revelation, experts said that those treating HIV-infected people pose a bigger risk to their patients than the reverse. There is greater likelihood a harmful agent would be transmitted to a weakened immune system.

Experts said the risk of transmission through contact on the basketball court is negligible. There is no verified incident in which an athlete has contracted the disease through a collision with an infected party.

One such reported case involving a soccer game at an Italian prison a few years ago has not been documented by the scientific community. An independent examination by The Times was unable to verify if the report was true.

Mellman, who has helped program Johnson’s treatment, said the player’s everyday health is fine.

“He has had consistent good health since 1991,” said Mellman, an Inglewood internist. “We are at the same place we were when he was going to return before.”

At the time, Johnson’s T-helper cell count was believed to be about 500 per cubic milliliter of blood, the same as when he had begun AZT treatment 10 months earlier. Normal levels range from 800 to 1,200, and most patients do not suffer AIDS-related symptoms until it dips below 200.

T-helper cells are critical parts of the body’s immune system, and AZT--or zidovudine--is thought to initially boost the cell count, But as the T-helper cell counts drop progressively lower, the body’s immune system finds it more and more difficult to fight off infection. This can take up to 10 years and researchers recently discovered that some HIV-infected patients have near normal immune systems 15 years after testing positive.

Mellman said Johnson is aware of the need to carefully monitor his diet and sleeping habits.

Other physicians said it would not be wise to continually play on consecutive nights, but the NBA schedule usually has breaks during the week.

“If there are significant changes [in his health], he can stop playing,” said Robert E. Winters, a Santa Monica internist specializing in infectious diseases.

Mervyn Silverman, president of the American Foundation for AIDS Research in New York, said it is important for Johnson to listen to his body and make his own determination.

“There are a lot of people with HIV who are very active,” he said. “That is a personal issue. Only the person can determine what their limits are.”

For Johnson, that means another half-season of Laker basketball.