Drug Abuse Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Drug Abuse, including details on psychology, rehabilitation, consequences, treatment. | ||||||
|
Shooting up: the interface of microbial infections and drug abuse.Kaushik KS, Kapila K, Praharaj AK Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. mahakaroo@yahoo.com Illicit drug control has been on the global agenda for more than a century. Infections have long been recognized as one of the most serious complications of drug abuse. Drug users are susceptible to pulmonary, endovascular, skin and soft tissue, bone and joint, and sexually transmitted infections caused by a wide range of bacterial, viral, fungal and protozoal pathogens. In addition, injection drug users are at increased risk for parenterally acquired infections such as human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, tetanus and malaria. Factors related to drug use, such as unsterile injection practices, contaminated drug paraphernalia and drug adulterants, increase the exposure to microbial pathogens. Illicit drugs also affect several components of the complex immune system and thus modulate host immunity. In addition, lifestyle practices such as multiple sexual partners, overcrowded housing arrangements and malnutrition serve as co-factors in increasing the risk of infection. In this review we present an overview of the unique aspects of microbial pathogenesis, immune modulation and common infections associated with drug use. We have restricted the definition of drug abuse to the use of illegal drugs (such as opiates, marijuana, cocaine, heroin and amphetamines), not including alcohol and nicotine. Published 17 March 2011 in J Med Microbiol, 60: 408-22. Articles on Drug Abuse published 15 March 2011: Complex calculations: how drug use during pregnancy becomes a barrier to prenatal care. Matern Child Health J, 15(3): 333-41. Pregnant women who use drugs are more likely to receive little or no prenatal care. This study sought to understand how drug use and factors associated with drug use influence women's prenatal care use. A total of 20 semi-structured interviews and 2 focus groups were conducted with a racially/ethnically diverse sample of low-income women using alcohol and drugs in a California county. Women using drugs attend and avoid prenatal care for reasons not connected to their drug use: concern for the ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Drug Abuse published 10 March 2011: Surviving drug addiction: the effect of treatment and abstinence on mortality. Am J Public Health, 101(4): 737-44. Articles on Drug Abuse published 23 February 2011: Loss of virus-specific T-cell responses in HCV exposed uninfected injection drug users with drug rehabilitation. J Infect Dis, 203(6): 847-53. Articles on Drug Abuse published 14 February 2011: Drug treatment outcomes among HIV-infected opioid-dependent patients receiving buprenorphine/naloxone. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, 56: S33-8. Drug treatment outcomes among HIV-infected opioid-dependent patients receiving buprenorphine/naloxone. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, 56: S33-8. Articles on Drug Abuse published 10 February 2011: Syringe disposal among injection drug users in San Francisco. Am J Public Health, 101(3): 484-6. To assess the prevalence of improperly discarded syringes and to examine syringe disposal practices of injection drug users (IDUs) in San Francisco, we visually inspected 1000 random city blocks and conducted a survey of 602 IDUs. We found 20 syringes on the streets we inspected. IDUs reported disposing of 13% of syringes improperly. In multivariate analysis, obtaining syringes from syringe exchange programs was found to be protective against improper disposal, and injecting in public places ... [Abstract] [Full-text] Articles on Drug Abuse published 1 February 2011: Changes in blood-borne infection risk among injection drug users. J Infect Dis, 203(5): 587-94. Changes in blood-borne infection risk among injection drug users. J Infect Dis, 203(5): 587-94. © 2005-2011 Drug Abuse Research Today. All Rights Reserved. |
| ||||
