Although tremendous progress has been made in the United States
in combating HIV/AIDS, more than 1 million people still live
with HIV in this country (more than 33 million worldwide) and
approximately one in five don't even know they're infected.
Risky behavior linked to drug abuse is a primary factor in the
spread of HIV in the United States. This is because drugs can
change the way the brain works, disrupting people's ability to
make good choices. The risky behaviors connected with drug abuse
include not only needle sharing by injection drug users but also
risky sexual behaviors resulting from intoxication and impaired
judgment. The research we support at the National Institute on
Drug Abuse (NIDA) is giving us new information about the pivotal
role of drug abuse in the evolving HIV/AIDS epidemic and how to
treat both problems more effectively. NIDA has undertaken
several other activities to both promote innovative research to
better understand this link and to raise awareness of it. To
this end, our Avant-