The Nation - News from April 4, 1988

Researchers have found evidence that teen-agers may be more resistant to the virus that causes AIDS than other age groups, according to a published report. Three recent studies have shown that teen-agers who are infected with the AIDS virus are likely to remain free of the disease longer than adults or infants, the New York Times reported. However, once they do become ill, teen-agers have no better success in fighting acquired immune deficiency syndrome than adults, the studies showed. The newspaper cited three studies of hemophilia patients who had become infected with the AIDS virus. Hemophiliacs need a factor extracted from donor blood to help their blood clot in case of cuts, and until a test was developed for the AIDS virus some infected blood was donated.