HEALTH : Childrens’ AIDS Drug Released

WASHINGTON —  An immune-boosting drug has proven successful in fending off deadly infections that often kill children who have the AIDS virus, government researchers announced today.

A nationwide study of 372 children who showed symptoms of AIDS found that intravenous doses of a substance called immunoglobulin markedly reduced the development of serious bacterial infections, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development said.

The results were so impressive that officials said they are halting the study and immediately starting to give the therapy to those children in the study who had been receiving phony infusions for comparison purposes.

In the study, started in March, 1988, children who received the treatment monthly went more than 19 months before developing their first AIDS-related infection, compared to about seven months for those receiving phony infusions.

Although the treatment can improve the quality of life for children infected with the AIDS-causing virus, researchers emphasized that the therapy is not a cure.