PSYCHOIMMUNOLOGY AND AIDS - PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AND HERPES-SIMPLEXVIRUS IN HUMAN-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-VIRUS INFECTED INDIVIDUALS

No studies investigating the relationship of herpesviruses and psychol ogical distress in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection are av ailable in the literature. Antibody titers for Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Epstein-Barr (EBV) and Herpes Simplex virus (HSV) were assessed from s era drawn at the time of psychological testing for one hundred HIV ser opositive subjects. Increased psychological distress was correlated wi th increased titers of antibody to HSV, but not to CMV or EBV. Psychol ogical distress may play a role in the devastating HSV infections expe rienced by immune deficient individuals. A stress mediated reactivatio n/potentiation hypothesis is discussed, where distress reactivates lat ent HSV which in turn potentiates HIV replication. These results may h ave implications for treatment of individuals co-infected with HIV and HSV.