Drug abuse and infection / 中国医学科学院学报

ABSTRACT

In recent years increased studies on the relationship between addictive drugs abuse and infectious diseases such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) have shown that these drugs, including heroin, marijuana and cocaine, not only alter the abusers' neuropsychological and pathophysiological responses, but also impair their immune functions. The possible mechanisms may include the direct effect on immune cells or an indirect method ( e. g., stimulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis). The correlation between intravenous drug users (IVDUs) and human immunodeficiency virus infections has led to the proposal that the immunomodulation mediated by additive drugs is a major factor contributing to the progression of AIDS in IVDUs. Immunosuppression caused by drug abuse may increase the susceptibility to opportunistic infections, while drug abusers' lifestyles also increase exposure risk to infectious pathogens. In summary, increased infection risks and drug-mediated immunomodulation increase drug abusers' susceptibility to infectious pathogens.