compiled by Martin Flynn
DOES DOPE DRIVE YOU
DOTTY?
As
a cannabis-based pain relief drug becomes available for the first
time on the NHS for people with multiple sclerosis, worrying research is published
linking long-term cannabis use with serious mental health problems.
And as evidence emerges of a possible link between cannabis use and depression,
there are demands in the UK to reclassify the drug as more dangerous.
A Danish study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, found that
large numbers of people who smoke cannabis regularly go on to develop cannabis-induced
psychotic symptoms.
Two fifths of patients using cannabis in a study from the Aarhus Psychiatric
Hospital went on to develop major schizophrenia disorders. Those who used
the drug also developed schizophrenia at a much younger age than others in
the general population. But the study did not make a direct link between cannabis
and schizophrenia because other factors, such as hereditary predisposition,
other drug use and socio-economic status have to be taken into account. Many
people with HIV who smoke cannabis regularly to boost appetite and aid relaxation
should now be aware of the possible long-term mental health problems, as well
as lung damage, associated with the drug. Those people with HIV taking efavirenz,
known to cause lucid dreams and depression in a high proportion of patients,
are advised to be extra careful in their cannabis use or even
consider abstaining.
MUSCLE BOOSTER FOR THE AGEING
Researchers
in France claim to have found a way to help people maintain muscle
mass as they get older.
This may benefit people living with HIV who have suffered from acute weight
loss and/or lipoatrophy. The RAVE study of 105 UK HIV positive patients found
that those on the drugs AZT and d4T lost an average of 5 kilos of peripheral
fat from their arms and legs after four to five years on treatment.
Switching from these drugs to abacavir or tenofovir resulted in a small increase
in weight (300-400g) but other research is now showing that the long-term
effect of lipoatrophy is virtually irreversible.
The French study, from the Human Nutrition Research Centre of Auvergne, found
that adding the amino acid leucine to older people’s diets could help
them maintain muscle. And experts say the best way to boost leucine levels
is to eat more meat. Once adults reach the age of 40, they start to lose 0.5
to two per cent of their
muscle each year. Reversing the loss of proteins and boosting their creation
has now become a
serious issue for those involved in gerontology research. As people age there
is more breakdown of proteins than synthesis of new ones. Dr Didier Attaix,
of the Auvergne Research Centre, said: “Preventing muscle wasting is
a major socio-economic and public health issue that we may be able to combat
with a leucine-rich diet.”
“Leucine is most abundant in meat,” said Dr Michael Rennie of
the University of Nottingham. “So it makes sense in terms of protein
synthesis to eat meat.”
“As people get older, they tend to eat less. But people should maintain
their protein intake as they age.”
MALARIA RISKS FOR HIV POSITIVE PEOPLE
Liverpool
School of Tropical Medicine has issued a warning about the dangers
of malaria after four people in the north-west caught the disease after a
fishing trip on holiday in Gambia. The individuals did not take anti-malarial
drugs.The School’s Dr David Lalloo said the number of people returning
to Britain with the potentially fatal form of malaria has grown from about
250 in 1977 to over 1,500 in 2004.
Meanwhile, a study from South Africa has highlighted that malaria is endemic
in sub-Saharan Africa where there is also a very high HIV prevalence. The
Soweto hospital team found that HIV positive patients were three times more
likely to develop serious malaria than HIV negative people if they were bitten
by mosquitoes.
“HIV infection is associated with an increased risk of severe malaria,”
said investigators in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. They continued
that this could be for two reasons. “Either HIV could impair immune
responses to malaria parasites or HIV infected patients may develop excessive
or aberrant immune responses that lead to increased disease severity.”
HIV positive people are known to have severe allergic responses to mosquito
bites so the importance of taking anti-malarial tablets in full doses before,
during and after trips to Africa, Asia and Latin America cannot be underestimated.
