US Pharm. 2013;38(11)(Oncol. suppl):S-14.

Cocaine use may increase one’s susceptibility to HIV infection, according to a new research report published in September in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. In the report, scientists show that cocaine alters immune cells, called quiescent CD4 T cells, to render them more vulnerable to the virus and at the same time to allow for increased HIV growth.

“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, PhD, the study’s senior author and a scientist with UCLA’s Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, and the UCLA AIDS Institute. “Such discovery can significantly improve the quality of life of drug users.”