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Early treatment pays $ Despite their high cost, the use of combination drug therapies for AIDS patients results in lower overall treatment costs, two new studies show. The findings, presented at the Fourth Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, reveal that the therapies, which combine protease inhibitors with older AIDS drugs, reduce us age of hospital services and other costly medical care. One study, conducted by researchers at Tower Infectious Disease Medical Associates in Los Angeles, found that for each dollar spent on the drugs, at least two dollars were saved in over all treatment costs. The findings gave AIDS activists evidence to use in their fight for increased government funding for the drug therapies, though both researchers and activists alike cautioned that it is still too early to know whether the drugs will be effective in the long term or what their impact on the health-care system will be. Aggressive treatment for AIDS pa tients can be cost-effective by prolonging life, an official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Dr. Jonathan E. Kaplan, of the agency's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, reported that HIV infection is often not detected early enough to treat properly. He suggested that all primary healthcare facilities offer AIDS counseling and testing to patients with tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and all pregnant women. Kaplan also recommended that certain measures be taken for patients suspected of having AIDS, including assessment of HIV risk behavior, a chest x-ray, and tuberculin skin test, as well as tests for sexually transmitted diseases. (CDC National AIDS Clearinghouse 1/22/97 and 1/24/97)