Three open-label studies of oral interferon alpha in the treatment of HIV disease.

Three open-label studies were conducted in which natural human interferon-alpha (nHuIFN-alpha) was given orally to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients at a daily dosage of 150 IU for 12 months in an attempt to assess the effects of this treatment on their CD4+ cell counts. In the first study, 110 patients received nHuIFN-alpha, and 142 patients received nHuIFN-alpha and azidothymidine (AZT). At 12 months, patients given nHuIFN-alpha alone had a mean increase of 14% in their CD4+ counts, although the mean increase in absolute CD4+ count was similar between the groups. Blacks in this study were more likely to experience an increase in CD4+ count than other ethnic groups (P < 0.001). In the second study, 40 black, male homosexuals with CD4+ count between 350 and 500/mm3 were enrolled in groups of 10 to receive either nHuIFN-alpha or AZT, or both nHuIFN-alpha and AZT, or nothing (untreated controls). At 12 months, the mean CD4+ counts of the patients in the group given nHuIFN-alpha alone were significantly higher than the mean CD4+ counts in both the group given AZT alone and the untreated controls (P < 0.01). In the third study, 38 patients with CD4+ cell counts > 700/mm3 were enrolled in groups of 19, matched by gender and ethnic group, to receive nHuIFN-alpha or nothing (untreated controls). Patients given nHuIFN-alpha experienced a mean increase of 12% in their CD4+ counts by the end of the 12-month study.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)