title: Impact of cocaine abuse on HIV pathogenesis.
abstract: Over 1.2 million people in the United States are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Tremendous progress has been made over the past three decades on many fronts in the prevention and treatment of HIV-1 disease. However, HIV-1 infection is incurable and antiretroviral drugs continue to remain the only effective treatment option for HIV infected patients. Unfortunately, only three out of ten HIV-1 infected individuals in the US have the virus under control. Thus, majority of HIV-1 infected individuals in the US are either unaware of their infection status or not connected/retained to care or are non-adherent to antiretroviral therapy (ART). This national public health crisis, as well as the ongoing global HIV/AIDS pandemic, is further exacerbated by substance abuse, which serves as a powerful cofactor at every stage of HIV/AIDS including transmission, diagnosis, pathogenesis, and treatment. Clinical studies indicate that substance abuse may increase viral load, accelerate disease progression and worsen AIDS-related mortality even among ART-adherent patients. However, confirming a direct causal link between substance abuse and HIV/AIDS in human patients remains a highly challenging endeavor. In this review we will discuss the recent and past developments in clinical and basic science research on the effects of cocaine abuse on HIV-1 pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA ; School of Graduate Studies and Research, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Sabyasachi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dash
authors.affiliation: Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA ; Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Biology, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Muthukumar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balasubramaniam
authors.affiliation: Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA ; School of Graduate Studies and Research, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Villalta
authors.affiliation: Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA ; School of Graduate Studies and Research, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA ; Department of Biochemistry and Cancer Biology, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Chandravanu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dash
authors.affiliation: Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA ; School of Graduate Studies and Research, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Meharry Medical College , Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Jui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pandhare
keywords: AIDS; HIV; cocaine; drug use; pathogenesis