Response: Arguments contradict the “foreign protein-zidovudine” hypothesis
BMJ 1996; 312 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.312.7025.211 (Published 27 January 1996) Cite this as: BMJ 1996;312:211
- Caroline A Sabin, lecturer in epidemiology and medical statisticsa,
- Andrew N Phillips, reader in epidemiology and biostatisticsa,
- Christine A Lee, director haemophilia centreb
- a HIV Research Unit, Department of Public Health, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London NW3 2PF
- b Haemophilia Centre and Haemostasis Unit, Department of Haematology, Royal Free Hospital and School of Medicine, London NW3 2PF
- Correspondence to: Dr Sabin.
In 1991 Duesberg challenged researchers to provide either data on “controlled epidemiologic studies comparing matched hemophiliacs, with and without HIV, or epidemiological evidence that the mortality of hemophiliacs is increased by HIV.”1 We and Darby et al have provided that evidence.2 3 Duesberg's commentary4 requires further comment.
HIV may be enough to cause AIDS
It is incorrect to conclude that HIV is not sufficient to cause AIDS simply because some of the infected patients in our study had not developed AIDS by 10 years after seroconversion. Only longer term follow up studies will finally establish whether all HIV positive patients would, given enough time, ultimately develop AIDS. In the United States around 3800 haemophilic patients have reportedly developed AIDS out of 9000 who have been infected5 (World Federation of Hemophilia, personal communication, 1995), a far higher proportion than that quoted by Duesberg in arguments against the HIV hypothesis.
Duesberg's foreign protein-zidovudine hypothesis predicts that haemophilic patients will not develop non-immunodeficiency diseases such as dementia. Given …