ABSTRACT
Beta 2-microglobulin level has been evaluated in 183 male intravenous drug users and 50 apparently healthy blood donors. The aim of the study was to assess the possible association between high values of the peptide and both HIV infection and disease progression in intravenous drug users. Beta 2-microglobulin values were found significantly higher in AIDS patients and other symptomatic subjects than in asymptomatic, both seropositive and seronegative, intravenous drug users. Among asymptomatic drug users, no significant difference in the values was found.
Subject(s)
HIV Infections/complications , Substance Abuse, Intravenous/complications , beta 2-Microglobulin/analysis , Biomarkers , Cross-Sectional Studies , HIV Infections/blood , HIV Infections/epidemiology , HIV Seroprevalence , Humans , Italy/epidemiology , Male , Predictive Value of Tests , Sensitivity and Specificity , Substance Abuse, Intravenous/blood , Substance Abuse, Intravenous/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Serum beta 2-microglobulin levels (beta-2-M) were studied in 150 drug addicts, 50 of them asymptomatic carriers of anti HIV-1 antibodies, 50 symptomatic carriers with persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (P.G.L.) and 50 serum negative patients who had been living in a closed community for at least 2 years. The results showed increased beta-2-M in 24 P.G.L. patients (48%), in 6 of the asymptomatic serum positive cases (12%) and in 3 of the serum negative subjects (6%). No such increase was found in the selected control group. Statistical analysis using the chi-square test and one-way variance analysis gave a significant result. The data suggest that increased serum beta-2-M is essentially linked to the presence of P.G.L.
