[Tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1beta in the blood plasma of patients with HIV infection].

The paper presents examination findings of 67 HIV-infected patients: 32 children aged 2.5 to 16 years and 35 adults aged 21 to 46 years. The proportion of patients with higher alpha-tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-1 beta increased with progression of the disease, the two parameters being higher in the children than in the adults. A correlation was found between the appearance of cytokines in the plasma and some clinical signs, such as fever, weight loss, anemia, neurological disorders. A parallel study of the patients' immunograms indicated significant correlations between the degree of impairments in the composition of lymphocyte subpopulations and the appearance of plasma cytokines.