New Hope

Many doctors have long suspected that the drug AZT could benefit the estimated 100,000 to 200,000 Americans who are infected with the AIDS virus but who have not yet developed full-blown symptoms. Last week a federal study showed that they were right. "This is the first clear proof that early intervention makes a difference," says Jerome Groopman, a physician with New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston. "It's exciting, and it's a finding of real importance."

The research, conducted by a division of the National Institutes of Health, shows that azidothymidine, or AZT, dramatically slows the multiplication of the AIDS virus in people with mild symptoms of the disease, such as diarrhea, thrush (a fungal infection of the mouth), or a chronic rash. Until now, AZT was thought to be effective only in patients with more advanced cases of AIDS. Currently, the drug is the only medication licensed by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for the disease.

Doctors and advocates for AIDS victims were elated at the breakthrough. Many hoped that the news would motivate people who are at high risk for infection -- homosexual men and intravenous drug users -- to get tested for the disease and seek counseling.

But the high cost of AZT -- $7,000 to $8,000 a year -- will make it difficult for any but the wealthy or the well insured to receive the drug. Some state Medicaid programs pay for AIDS treatment only when the disease is far advanced. People who take AZT to stall the onset of AIDS may not be covered. Burroughs Wellcome Co., which manufactures AZT, is now seeking FDA clearance to use the medication in pre-AIDS patients. If the Federal Government permits the number of consumers to go up, presumably the price will come down.