The New England journal of medicine
-
Is the federal government devoting sufficient resources to fighting the epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and are these resources being spent appropriately? Some observers contend that the amounts have been inadequate, but until now there has been no overall accounting of federal activities and spending to combat the epidemic. We report expenditure data collected from federal agencies for the years 1982 to 1989. In all, $5.5 billion will have been spent on HIV-related illness during this period by the federal government, nearly 60 percent of it by the U. ⋯ Although sizable, this will be just 1.8 percent of all 1992 federal health dollars. Similarly, in 1992, national (public and private) spending on HIV-related illness will consume roughly 1.6 percent of all health-related costs in the United States. Federal spending for HIV research and prevention is similar to funding for other major diseases, including some conditions, such as cancer and heart disease, that now have a greater impact on mortality.
-
Congenital agranulocytosis is a disorder characterized by severe neutropenia and a profound deficiency of identifiable neutrophil progenitors in bone marrow. In an attempt to stimulate neutrophil production and thereby reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease, we administered recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) in doses of 3 to 60 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day to five patients with congenital agranulocytosis. In all five patients, an increase in the number of neutrophils was noted eight to nine days after the initiation of the effective dosage (the dose at which the neutrophil count reached 1000 cells per microliter or more and the bone marrow showed granulocyte maturation beyond the myelocyte stage). ⋯ All five patients have had sustained neutrophil counts of 1000 cells per microliter or more for 9 to 13 months while receiving subcutaneous maintenance therapy. Preexisting chronic infections have resolved clinically, and the number of new infectious episodes and the requirement for intravenous antibiotics have decreased. We conclude that treatment with rhG-CSF can lead to a large increase in the numbers of functional neutrophils in patients with congenital agranulocytosis.