Stress management and immune system reconstitution in symptomatic HIV-infected gay men over time: Effects on transitional naive T cells (CD4 ⁺CD45RA⁺CD29⁺)

Objective: Changes in immunologic status were evaluated in 25 HIV-infected men randomly assigned to a 10-week stress management intervention or a wait-list control condition. Method: The authors monitored changes in number of transitional naive T cells (CD4⁺CD45RA⁺CD29⁺) over 6-12 months after the completion of the intervention. Results: Men receiving stress management had higher CD4⁺ CD45RA ⁺CD29⁺ cell counts at follow-up than did the control subjects. This difference was independent of initial number of naive T cells and HIV virus load. Conclusions: Stress management is associated with immunologic reconstitution in HIV-positive gay men.