Friday, April 4, 2025

Cocaine use may increase HIV vulnerability

Date:

Share post:

Cocaine use may in crease one’s vulnerability to the deadly HIV infection, a new study has warned. Scientists found that cocaine alters immune cells, called “quiescent CD4 T cells,” to render them more susceptible to the virus, and at the same time, to allow for increased proliferation of the virus.

“We ultimately hope that our studies will provide a better understanding of how drugs of abuse impact how our body defends itself against disease,” said Dimitrios N Vatakis, the study’s senior author and a scientist with University of California, Los Angeles’ Department of Medicine. “Such discovery can significantly improve the quality of life of drug users,” Vatakis said. In the study, scientists collected blood from healthy human donors and isolated quiescent CD4 T cells, and exposed them to cocaine and subsequently infected them with HIV. Following infection, researchers monitored the progression of HIV’s life cycle and compared this progression against that of untreated cells.

They found that cocaine rendered this subset of CD4 T cells susceptible to HIV, resulting in significant infection and new virus production. “The co-epidemics of elicit drug use and infectious disease are well documented, though typically this connection is thought to occur through lifestyle choices and increased exposure,” said John Wherry, Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology in which the study was published. “What often does not come to mind is that drugs such as cocaine may be helping to fuel infections in this high-risk population by altering the immune system. “These new studies are an important advance documenting how cocaine use may increase a person’s vulnerability to HIV and further highlighting the need for improved education for both HIV prevention and drug abstinence,” he said. (PTI)

Related articles

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed by the Indian community people on his arrival at a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed by the Indian community people on his arrival at a hotel in Bangkok,...

State failing to check illegal coal mining, VPP MP tells LS

Our Bureau NEW DELHI/SHILLONG, April 3: Shillong MP from VPP, Ricky AJ Syngkon on Thursday raised the issue of...

All-party panel to discuss rly in state; KSU reacts sharply

By Our Reporter SHILLONG, April 3: The state government has announced the constitution of an all-party committee consisting of...

Saleng flags ‘attack’ on Christians in LS, joins Opp MPs in walkout

By Our Reporter SHILLONG, April 3: Tura MP Saleng Sangma has condemned the attacks on Christians in various parts...