NIH to Study Immune Globulin Impact on AIDS in Infants Born to HIV-Positive Mothers

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
National institutes of Health * Public Health Service * U.S. Departmont of Health and Human Services
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
September 21, 1993 NHLBI Information Office
301-496-4236
NIH TO STUDY IMMUNE GLOBULIN IMPACT ON AIDS
IN INFANTS BORN TO EIV-POSITIVE MOTHERS
the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute' (NHLBI)
today announced the beginning of a $14 million/three-year
study of the effects of an immune system supplement on the
transmission of AIDS from HIV-positive pregnant women to
their offspring.
The trial is being conducted in collaboration with the
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
(NICHD) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID). It will examine the effectiveness of
HIVIG, an immune globulin preparation containing large
quantities of antibodies to the HIV virus, in preventing HIV
infection in infants born to HIV-infected women.
Participants also will receive Zidovudine (ZDV), an
aritiviral agent commonly known as AZT. A control group will
receive a non-HIV-specific immune globulin (IVIG) and ZDV.
Adcording to NHLBI Director Dr. Claude Lenf ant, "This
trial is a unique collaborative effort among three
institutes at NIH to use a blood product, immune globulin,
to try to limit the spread of HIV from Ely-infected women to

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