Long-Term Survivors and Progression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

To the Editor: Much interest has been focused on long-term survivors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection,1,2 but little information is available about the progression of the disease in these patients. We present the results of a four-year follow-up of 32 patients with hemophilia who fulfilled the following criteria for long-term survival of HIV-1 infection in 1991: documented HIV-1 infection for more than eight years, stable CD4+ T-cell counts greater than 500 cells per cubic millimeter, the absence of symptoms, and no use of antiretroviral therapy. These 32 long-term survivors represent 14.2 percent of the 225 patients . . .