MEDICAL UPDATE: The Effects of Alcohol and Drug Use on HIV Progression


MEDICAL UPDATE: The Effects of Alcohol and Drug Use on HIV Progression

Being Alive Newsletter, Being Alive/Los Angeles - June 1993
Mark Katz, MD and reported by Jim Stoecker

Studies on the effect of alcohol, cocaine and marijuana on the progression of HIV disease have reached contradictory conclusions. Some say there is no effect and others say there is. We do know that cocaine increases HIV replication in the test tube. Whether the drug has this effect in someone who is HIV+, however, has not been proven.

A recent study, reported in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, looked at the effect of alcohol on HIV replication. Once again, however, we do not have a study of people with HIV.

Researchers formed a group of people who were not infected with HIV. They asked them to measure their alcohol consumption over the weekend and then divided the group into light, moderate and heavy drinkers. Blood specimens were drawn from the group before and after alcohol consumption, and these T-cells were infected with HIV in the test tube. What the researchers found was that there was increased syncytia formation and p24 antigen levels after alcohol use, even for those categorized as light drinkers.

Because we once again have a test tube study rather than one of people actually infected with HIV, it is difficult to determine the clinical relevance of this study. What is the effect of alcohol and drug use on HIV disease progression? We still do not have a clear answer.


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