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This volume is based on the proceedings of the 7th annual symposium on the topic
Neuroimmune Circuits, Infectious Diseases and Drugs of Abuse, Bethesda, Maryland, October
7–9, 1999. This symposium, as in the past, focused on newer knowledge concerning the
relationship between the immune and nervous systems with regards to the effects of drugs of
abuse and infections, including AIDS, caused by the immunodeficiency virus. Presentations
discussed the brain-immune axis from the viewpoint of drugs of abuse rather than from the
subject of the brain or immunity alone. The major aim of this series of conferences has been to
clarify the consequences of immunomodulation induced by drugs of abuse in regards to
susceptibility and pathogenesis of infectious diseases, both in man and in various animal
model systems.
The recreational use of drugs of abuse such as morphine, cocaine, and marijuana by large
numbers of individuals in this country and around the world has continued to arouse serious
concerns about the consequences of use of such drugs, especially on the normal physiological
responses of an individual, including immune responses. Much of the recent data accumulated
by investigators show that drugs of abuse, especially opioids and cannabinoids, markedly alter
immune responses in human populations as well as in experimental animals, both in vivo and
in vitro. It is now widely recognized that many drugs of abuse are associated with increased
susceptibility to infectious diseases, especially opportunistic intracellular microbial infections,
including infection by the AIDS virus. A concerted effort is now being made to determine the
mechanisms whereby drugs of abuse increase susceptibility of infected individuals, be they
humans or experimental animals, to opportunistic infectious agents. In particular, it is now
known that drugs such as morphine, marijuana and cocaine enhance the susceptibility of
humans as well as animals to infections by bacteria, viruses, protozoa, or fungi. Various
infectious agents have shown that drugs of abuse increase susceptibility. Recently, the relationship
between immunomodulation induced by drugs of abuse and effects on specific
receptors, especially for opioids and cannabinoids, as well as on signal transduction mechanisms,
have been reported. |
