Cocaine and crack addiction and HIV-infection: a dreadful synergy threatening the brain-by Edward B. Ziff, Cândida Aparecida Leite Kassuya, and Elisabete Castelon Konkiewitz

Brazil Struggles With Crack Epidemic...RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - DECEMBER 10:  Drug users gather beneath an overpass in an area known as 'Cracolandia', or Crackland, in the Antares shantytown on December 10, 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to the Economist, recent studies have shown Brazil to be the world's largest crack market, with 1-1.2 million users. The use of crack has   rapidly expanded and become a nationwide epidemic largely due to Brazil's proximity to cocaine-producing countries and an increase in purchasing power within the country.  (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Brazil Struggles With Crack Epidemic…RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – DECEMBER 10: Drug users gather beneath an overpass in an area known as ‘Cracolandia’, or Crackland, in the Antares shantytown on December 10, 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to the Economist, recent studies have shown Brazil to be the world’s largest crack market, with 1-1.2 million users. The use of crack has rapidly expanded and become a nationwide epidemic largely due to Brazil’s proximity to cocaine-producing countries and an increase in purchasing power within the country. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Neurociências • Ano 2015 • Volume 11 • Nº 2 

http://www.portalatlanticaeditora.com.br/index.php/neurocienciasepsicologia/article/download/60/89.

With the advent of combined antiretroviral therapy (CART), AIDS care entered a new era as HIV infection became a chronic disease and people living with HIV (PLHIV) could expect greatly extended lifespans. However, as PLHIV lived longer, other issues surrounding the disease became apparent and required attention to ensure a satisfactory quality of life. Prominent amongst these new issues is the way HIV interacts with the central nervous system (CNS), and by extrapolation, how social, and behavioral factors influence the course of the disease and the lives of PLHIV. The CNS is a major target for HIV-1 infection. Within days following infection, HIV-1 enters the brain, where various resident cells can serve as reservoirs for the virus, since CART demonstrates poor ability to penetrate the blood–brain barrier (BBB) [1,2]. For this reason, HIV infection is frequently complicated by CNS dysfunction that manifests predominantly as HIV associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), which affects up to 40% of PLHIV [3,4]. HAND may occur in both asymptomatic and symptomatic states, being classified into three conditions: asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (ANI), mild neurocognitive disorder (MND) and HIV-associated dementia (HAD) [5,6].

Texto completo disponível em:  http://www.portalatlanticaeditora.com.br/index.php/neurocienciasepsicologia/article/download/60/89.

 

Edward Ziff: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine,

Cândida Kassuya e E. Castelon Konkiewitz: Faculdade de Ciências da Saude, Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados/MS

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