HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS RATHER THAN HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION IS RELEVANT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANTICARDIOLIPIN ANTIBODY

We have investigated whether or not a relationship exists between anti-cardiolipin antibody (aCL) positivity and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) and/or hepatitis C virus (HCV), and we have attempted to clarify which virus has close association with the development of aCL. We found that aCL positivity in HIV-infected patients was significantly higher than in HCV-infected patients, Furthermore, HIV/HCV dual-infected patients exhibited a higher aCL positivity than patients infected by HCV alone. From these results, we conclude that HIV rather than HCV plays an important role in the development of aCL. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.