A study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, found that 341 men infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus who were using stimulants such as cocaine or methamphetamine were more able to obtain life-saving benefits from being on the antiretroviral therapy than those who were not.

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On the other hand, patients who admitted to using stimulants at over half of the minimum two study visits did have fairly increased odds of the disease developing into Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome after starting the therapy compared to non-users. The data was gathered between 1996 and 2012.

"Patients with HIV who use stimulants and other substances often experience difficulties with accessing antiretroviral therapy, partially due to the concerns of healthcare providers that they will not be able take their medications as directed," said The study's primary investigator Adam Carrico, PhD.

Carrico, who is also an assistant professor of nursing at UCSF, also said that the findings from the study show that a number of users of stimulants take the antiretroviral therapy at levels low enough to avoid the adverse clinical outcomes.

"When we look at overall mortality, antiretroviral therapy leads to similar clinical benefits for both stimulant users and non-users, notwithstanding stimulant use," he added.

The study included 1,313 men infected with HIV who have intercourse with men within the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study, a prospective ongoing nationwide study of the spread of HIV among men who have sex with men in the United States.

"If we are to achieve the goals of the President's National HIV/AIDS Strategy and UNAIDS to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, we will need to treat HIV-positive active substance users for their HIV while encouraging them to stop or reduce their substance use," said Carrico.

He added that programs that integrate HIV clinical care and substance abuse services  may both improve the health results for the patients and decrease the possibility of new infections.

TagsHIV, AIDS, drug use, Autoimmune disease, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Human immunodeficiency Virus, cocaine, methamphetamine