Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-1991

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Health Promotion and Health Education

Major Professor

James J. Neutens

Committee Members

Charles Hamilton, Gene Hayes, Bill Poppen

Abstract

This study utilized a small population of HIV-positive, symptomatic patients who were being treated with whole-body hyperthermia for Kaposi's sarcoma. An effort was made to identify any trends in the properties of the patients that might aid in the prediction of the HIV response to hyperthermia. This would allow for better patient selection for future treatments. The group consisted of ten HIV-positive, Caucasian young adult males with confirmed Kaposi's sarcoma. All the subjects had been on the usual AIDS therapies but were no longer responding. They were each administered one hyperthermic session in which their body's temperature was elevated to 42°C and maintained for one hour. Pre-treatment and one month post-treatment p24 antigen levels (a marker of HIV activity) and CD4 cell counts (a marker of the status of the immune system) were obtained. The sample size did not lend itself to statistical procedures. However, the following trends and observations were noted.

1. Hyperthermia did not cause HIV replication, a fear that has blocked HIV-positive patients from access to hyperthermia.

2. Hyperthermia appeared to be a safe procedure, even in patients whose immune system was severely compromised.

3. The desired (decrease) effect on the p24 antigen level and the desired (increase) effect on the CD4 cell count appeared to be the greatest in patients whose immune system had not yet become severely depleted, suggesting early intervention with hyperthermia would be most beneficial. Certainly, care must be used in any attempt to generalize from this small population. However, the observations do suggest certain promising trends that should be investigated further before conclusions as to their significance can be determined.

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