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From: claris!netcom!jfh@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Jack Hamilton)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: Re: Evaluating AIDS treatment info
Message-ID: <38246@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Date: 21 Aug 90 21:02:59 GMT
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In article <38221@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> Wounded.Bird@f38.n135.z1.fidonet.org 
(Wounded Bird) writes:
>The book also indicates that recent research findings support very long term 
>periods of infection prior to indications of seroconversion because not all 
>infected cells are capable of producing antibodies. Other tests must be used 
>to determine infection by the virus. Detection of antibodies alone is just not 
>accurate enough.

Well, that's certainly bad news, although not necessarily surprising.
There have been hints of that before.  Would there be any way other than a
biopsy to detect infection in such a case?  I guess not, unless one of the
cells happens to float off and into the blood sample used for a PCR.
-- 
Because of mail/disk problems at Netcom, I have adopted the policy of
responding in some way to all non-listserv/non-acknowledgement email.  If
you don't hear from me, I didn't get it.
       Jack Hamilton    jfh@netcom.uucp   or   claris!netcom!jfh