Paraproteinemias in homosexual men with HIV infection. Lack of association with abnormal clinical or immunologic findings.

During a prospective immunologic study of 130 homosexual men, the authors looked for the presence of paraprotein bands in serum by electrophoresis. Antibody to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was present in 65 of the 130 men, the lymphadenopathy syndrome (LAS) in 26, and the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 3. Abnormal bands were detected in the serum of six men, as single paraproteins in four and as oligoclonal bands in two. All six were seropositive for anti-HIV; one has LAS, two had persistent but minor lymphadenopathy, and three were apparently normal. There was no significant difference between the T-cell subsets or ratios between those seropositive men with or without paraproteins. This high incidence of paraproteins is another accompaniment of B-cell hyperactivation in persons infected with HIV.