In reference to my previous letter published in The Scientist (Feb. 17, 1997, page 13), the implication in my text that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results obtained by my colleagues Dimitri Viza and Giancarlo Pizza confirm mine was erroneous.
My letter should have stated that Viza and Pizza also obtained promising results in AIDS. For instance, all nine AIDS patients treated with HIV-specific transfer factor (TF) who were anergic (negative) to the six common skin test antigens developed delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions to these antigens (a surrogate marker for cell-mediated immunity) when tested at 60 days post-TF administration. They also reported stabilization of the condition in advanced AIDS patients for several years.
TF may not always have the same dramatic effect on PCR counts that I have seen so far in my AIDS patients. I feel strongly that our success is because we eradicate any excess toxic metals and correct ...
