Infections in AIDS patients.

In the absence of a specific diagnostic test for AIDS, a case can be recognized only when complications of the immune deficiency such as opportunistic infections or Kaposi's sarcoma occur. Defective T-cell function is the principal immunological defect; however, there are defects in B-cell function which may have some clinical significance. It has not been possible to reverse the immunological deficiency in AIDS patients. These patients remain susceptible to a succession of infections to which they ultimately succumb. Effective treatment is available for many of the infectious complications of AIDS.