Drug shared by addicts seems to protect against HIV brain
dementiaApril 15th, 2010 in Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS To
their surprise, researchers at Georgetown University Medical
Center (GUMC) have discovered that morphine (a derivate of the
opium poppy that is similar to heroin) protects rat neurons
against HIV toxicity - a finding they say might help in the
design of new neuroprotective therapies for patients with the
infection. The discovery, being presented at the annual meeting
of the Society of NeuroImmune Pharmacology, also helps explain
why a subset of people who are heroin abusers and become
infected with HIV through needle sharing don't develop HIV brain
dementia. This brain disorder includes cognitive and motor
abnormalities, anxiety and depression. "We believe that morphine
may be neuroprotective in a subset of people infected with HIV,"
says the study's lead investigator, Italo Mocchetti, PhD,
Professor of neuroscience at GUMC. "That is not to say that
people should use heroin to protect themse