lequebecfume
01-06-2011, 04:50 AM
UF Receives $4.7 Million To Study Marijuana's Role In Immunity Among HIV-positive Adolescents
Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 05 Jan 2011 - 2:00 PST
HIV experts at the University of Florida, along with colleagues at the University of South Florida and the University of California, San Diego, have been awarded $4.7 million by the National Institutes of Health to study how the complex interplay between marijuana use and HIV infection can influence the development of neurological disorders in adolescents.
The five-year study will use a multidisciplinary approach that could lead to the identification of novel blood-based biomarkers for tracking how substance abuse alters immune function and the progression of HIV infection in the central nervous system. It may also provide evidence to support behavioral guidelines for HIV-infected youth.
"Findings from this study could translate into better diagnosis tools and new therapies to improve long-term outcomes for young adults infected with HIV," said principal investigator Maureen Goodenow, Ph.D., the Stephany W. Holloway university chair in AIDS research and professor of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine in the UF College of Medicine.
The work, funded through the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is also a project of the Florida Center for AIDS Research, which is seeking NIH designation as a center of excellence for HIV/AIDS research.
Despite powerful new therapies that have rendered HIV less deadly, movement and cognitive problems, including dementia, are still common among people who are infected. As a result, many infected adolescents may face a lifetime of impaired thinking and behavior.
Marijuana and other drugs also have powerful effects on cognition, so their use by HIV-infected youth could compound the adverse neurological effects associated with the disease.
Cannabinoids, the major component of marijuana responsible for the drug's mind- and mood-altering effects, are associated with suppression of the immune system. But little is known about just how those compounds exert such influence, or how they affect antiretroviral therapy effectiveness and patient outcomes. The researchers will focus on marijuana's main psychoactive component, a compound called THC that targets receptors produced in the brain, central nervous system and immune system.
The researchers previously found that 30 percent to 40 percent of HIV-infected youth use marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamines or other substances, and almost one-third use marijuana every day.
"
No one knows whether that is good, bad or indifferent in terms of their disease progression," said co-principal investigator John Sleasman, M.D., the Robert A. Good professor and chief of pediatric allergy, immunology and rheumatology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine.
"We don't really know what to tell youth in terms of lifestyle management if they have HIV."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/212755.php
Main Category: HIV / AIDS
Article Date: 05 Jan 2011 - 2:00 PST
HIV experts at the University of Florida, along with colleagues at the University of South Florida and the University of California, San Diego, have been awarded $4.7 million by the National Institutes of Health to study how the complex interplay between marijuana use and HIV infection can influence the development of neurological disorders in adolescents.
The five-year study will use a multidisciplinary approach that could lead to the identification of novel blood-based biomarkers for tracking how substance abuse alters immune function and the progression of HIV infection in the central nervous system. It may also provide evidence to support behavioral guidelines for HIV-infected youth.
"Findings from this study could translate into better diagnosis tools and new therapies to improve long-term outcomes for young adults infected with HIV," said principal investigator Maureen Goodenow, Ph.D., the Stephany W. Holloway university chair in AIDS research and professor of pathology, immunology and laboratory medicine in the UF College of Medicine.
The work, funded through the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is also a project of the Florida Center for AIDS Research, which is seeking NIH designation as a center of excellence for HIV/AIDS research.
Despite powerful new therapies that have rendered HIV less deadly, movement and cognitive problems, including dementia, are still common among people who are infected. As a result, many infected adolescents may face a lifetime of impaired thinking and behavior.
Marijuana and other drugs also have powerful effects on cognition, so their use by HIV-infected youth could compound the adverse neurological effects associated with the disease.
Cannabinoids, the major component of marijuana responsible for the drug's mind- and mood-altering effects, are associated with suppression of the immune system. But little is known about just how those compounds exert such influence, or how they affect antiretroviral therapy effectiveness and patient outcomes. The researchers will focus on marijuana's main psychoactive component, a compound called THC that targets receptors produced in the brain, central nervous system and immune system.
The researchers previously found that 30 percent to 40 percent of HIV-infected youth use marijuana, alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamines or other substances, and almost one-third use marijuana every day.
"
No one knows whether that is good, bad or indifferent in terms of their disease progression," said co-principal investigator John Sleasman, M.D., the Robert A. Good professor and chief of pediatric allergy, immunology and rheumatology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine.
"We don't really know what to tell youth in terms of lifestyle management if they have HIV."
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/212755.php