Cocaine leaves the body more vulnerable to HIV

Cocaine use may increase the vulnerability to HIV infection. The drug alters the "quiescent CD4 + T cells" leaving this cell more susceptible to the virus, and at the same time making it easier to spread of HIV

"We hope that, finally, our studies provide a better understanding of how drug abuse impact on our body, especially in defense. This discovery may significantly improve the quality of life of drug users," said Dimitrios N. Vatakis, author and scientist at the Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

For the study, researchers collected blood from healthy human donors by isolating CD4 + T cells quiescent. These cells were exposed to cocaine and then infected with HIV. After infection, the researchers followed the progression of the HIV life cycle compared to the reaction of untreated cells. They found that cocaine has left this subset of CD4 + T cells susceptible to HIV, resulting in a significant increase of the infection and spread of the virus.

"The relationship between infectious diseases and drug use is well documented, although it is common to think that this condition occurs due to lifestyle choices and the resulting increased exposure of people who use drugs. What often does not come to mind is that drugs such as cocaine may be helping boost infections in this high-risk population, altering the immune system. These new studies are an important advance document how cocaine use can increase a person's vulnerability to HIV, also emphasizing the need for improved education for both HIV prevention and for drug abstinence, said John Wherry, editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

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