[Questionnaire survey of AIDS examination recipients at government-run public health center regarding AIDS awareness promotion and HIV examinations].

An anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted among persons who had undergone screening for AIDS at public health centers under the auspices of 7 local government bodies (Hokkaido, Metropolitan Tokyo, Aichi Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, Kobe City, Saga Prefecture, Okinawa Prefecture). There were 1,230 replies, for a response rate of 46.8%. Questions in the survey pertained to general knowledge of AIDS, information desired by the recipients, desired ways to foster awareness, and a desirable examination system. A comparison was made in terms of gender, marriage status (married, single) and age (less than 40 years of age, more than 40 years of age), respectively. The survey results were as follows. 1. Concerning the infection route, accurate response rate was low with regard to the mother-child infection, mosquito transmission, and use of contaminated needles. 2. Desired methods to promote AIDS awareness expressed among replies were given in the following order or frequency: "information via radio and TV," "spread of knowledge through telephone consultation," and "holding an AIDS Week or similar kinds of campaigns." 3. Information sought by respondents frequently included AIDS treatment, pathology, and spread. This trend was most obvious among those under 40 years of age. 4. As for the AIDS examination system, replies most often reflected the hope that the examination site would be the Public Health Center, the charge would be gratis, and that one could be examined at night during the week, and on days off. 5. For those undergoing examination where there was no actual concern of possibility of HIV infection, single persons, accounted for around 80% of the overall. 6. More than half of those who had been examined mentioned having experienced concerns about maintaining confidentiality at the time they were examined.

Nodular scleroderma in systemic sclerosis under D-penicillamine therapy.

A case of systemic sclerosis (SS) which developed keloidal lesions (nodular scleroderma) on the chest during D-penicillamine (DPC) therapy is reported. The 36-year-old woman showed rapidly progressing skin sclerosis with lung and esophageal involvement, and DPC was started at the age of 38. Skin sclerosis as a whole had improved to some extent, when keloidal nodules developed on the upper chest at the age of 44. Since there were no other findings suggestive of adverse reactions caused by DPC, we speculate that activation of the fibroblasts in these lesions occurred despite the suppressive effect of DPC.

HLA in systemic scleroderma (PSS) and familial scleroderma.

HLA in systemic scleroderma (PSS), including three familial cases, is reported. Three families in which one sister developed PSS and another sister suffered from either PSS (family 1), mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) (family 2), or Sjögren's syndrome (SjS) (family 3) were described. The elder sister in family 1 died of respiratory insufficiency caused by scleroderma lung. The sisters in family 2 both had SjS, anti SS-A antibodies, and HLA A2-Bw55-Cw1-DRw8 haplotype in common. The elder sister with PSS in family 3 also had SjS and Hashimoto's thyroiditis. HLA in 28 PSS patients including these 3 familial cases were analyzed with 4 MCTD and 4 generalized morphea patients. HLA A2, Bw46, DR2, DRw8, DRw6 and DQw1 antigens were more frequently found in the PSS patients than in the controls. HLA DRw6 was the only antigen that was positive in common in the 3 familial cases. In those patients with anti topoisomerase I antibodies, HLA DR2 antigen was found more frequently than in the controls. Some, but not all, of these results were similar to the previous reports on HLA in PSS. Further investigations on more patients and the other members of these families would be necessary to clarify the significance of these results.