Infectious Diseases and Substance Abuse (Infectious Agents and Pathogenesis) - Hardcover

Reseña del editor

The use of recreational drugs of abuse by large numbers of individuals in this country and abroad has aroused serious concerns about the consequences of this activity. For example, it is recognized that marijuana is currently widely used as a recreational drug in the United States as well as other countries. Similarly, abuse of cocaine, especially crack cocaine, is considered to be an epidemic. “The war on drugs” by the US Government was directly aimed at the illicit use of cocaine, marijuana, and opiates as well as other drugs of abuse. Furthermore, alcohol is also considered a major problem of abuse in this country as well as in many other countries. It is estimated there are at least 10 million alcoholics in the United States alone. A signi?cant portion of those hospitalized with infectious diseases are alcoholics. Similarly, there have been many reports of association between marijuana use and increased susceptibility to infection as well as a re- tion between use of opiates and infections. The relationship between drug abuse and increased incidence of various infections has stimulated increased investi- tion of whether and how such drugs affect immune function, especially imp- tant for resistance against infectious agents. During the last decades, a wide variety of studies have shown that drugs of abuse, including marijuana, cocaine, or opiates, as well as alcohol, alter both neurophysiological as well as pathological responses of individuals.

Reseña del editor

The influence of many drugs of abuse - licit and illicit - on immune function has been examined extensively in recent years. Many such substances, including marijuana, cocaine, morphine, and nicotine, have been shown to enhance the disease process by impairing immunologic function. Use of these drugs impairs immunologic functions by suppressing antibody function, decreasing cytokine production, enhancing production and release of IL1, and suppressing IL2 and interferon. Among the viruses known to be effected by these drugs are viruses such as herpes simplex virus and murine retrovirus and bacterial agents such as Staphylococcus, Listeria, Treponema, and Legionella.

This volume, part of the Infectious Agents and Pathogenesis series, examines a variety of drugs of abuse and how they affect the immune system.