The incidence of pediatric infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), generally the result of perinatal transmission or hemophilia replacement therapy, is increasing dramatically since its first report about five years ago. An increasing proportion of pediatric HIV patients in the U.S. is being seen outside of the initial areas of New York, New Jersey, and Miami. The prognosis of perinatally acquired HIV infection is poor, and effective therapy has not yet become available. Children's Memorial Hospital, the pediatric arm of Northwestern University Medical School, responded to the growing number of HIV positive patients in the Metropolitan Chicago area by establishing and supporting a multi-disciplinary AIDS Clinic and Treatment Center within the Division of Infectious Disease to provide comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care for HIV-infected children approximately one year ago. The current proposal is to build upon the existing on-going multi-disciplinary activities and to establish a Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trial Group Center at Children's Memorial Hospital/Northwestern University Medical School. This center will participate fully in the overall ACTG network in conducting clinical trials of proposed therapies, including pharmacokinetic investigations. In addition, the CMH Clinical Trials Group Center proposes to conduct basic research related to Pediatric AIDS, including evaluation of the efficacy of the Polymerase Chain Reactivity (PCR) methodology for early diagnosis of perinatally acquired HIV infection.
