Pubdate: Wed, 27 Aug 2003
Source: Houston Voice (TX)
Copyright: 2003 Window Media LLC
Contact:  http://www.houstonvoice.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2892

STUDY SAYS MARIJUANA, HIV MEDICATION CAN MIX

SAN FRANCISCO - A University of California San Francisco study says that 
short-term use of medical marijuana causes no harm to people with HIV who 
are on combination antiretroviral therapy, according to Health Day News. 
Researchers said they could find no harmful changes in HIV levels in the 
participants when they smoked marijuana or took dronabinol, an oral medical 
cannabinoid. The study examined 62 people with HIV who are on 
antiretroviral regimens containing a protease inhibitor and lasted 25 days. 
Researched divided the volunteers into three groups. A group of 20 smoked 
marijuana. A second group of 22 received dronabinol and the final group of 
20 received an oral placebo. CD 4 T-cell counts increased by about 20 
percent for groups that used marijuana and dronabinol. CD 8 T-cell counts 
increased by 20 percent in the marijuana group and by 10 percent in the 
dronabinol group. There was no increase in CD 4 or CD 8 T-cell counts in 
the placebo group. "The change in lymphocyte counts for the smoked 
marijuana group is intriguing. At a minimum, it contradicts findings from 
previous studies suggesting that smoked marijuana suppresses the immune 
system," said study author Dr. Donald Abrams, a USCF professor of clinical 
medicine.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens