Drug Abuse and HIV/AIDS

Research Findings from September, 1999 Director's Report

This section lists selected summaries from NIDA funded research projects that investigate youth drug abuse and HIV/AIDS. The summaries provided were selected from recent issues of the Director's Report to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse. For a more comprehensive listing of NIDA funded projects see the Director's Report.

Micronutrients and Survival among HIV-Infected Children

New insights on the role of nutrition in improving survival among individuals with HIV have been gained from studies on micronutrient deficiencies among drug abusers with HIV infection. Baum and her colleagues at the University of Miami School of Medicine have found that low levels of selenium may be related to decreased survival of HIV-infected children. The study population consisted of 24 children who were exposed perinatally to HIV and who were symptomatic. They were recruited between October and December 1990 from the Jackson Memorial Pediatric Immunology Clinic, Miami, and were observed for 5 years. The children were assessed for their immune status by their CD4 cell count; and nutritional status by serum albumin level and plasma levels of trace elements (iron, zinc, selenium). Twelve children died of HIV-related causes. Cox multivariate analyses showed that only CD4 cell count below 200 (RR=7.05, CI=1.87-26.5, p<0.004), and low levels of selenium (RR=5.96, CI=1.32-26.8, p<0.02) were significantly and independently related to mortality. Among the children who died, those with low selenium levels (<85 ug/l) died at a younger age, suggesting more rapid disease progression. These data in children concur with the Baum's earlier findings of increased mortality with low levels of selenium in HIV infected adults. Campa, A., Shor-Posner, G., Indacochea, F., Zhang, G., Lai, H., Asthana, D., Scott, G., and Baum, M. Mortality Risk in Selenium-Deficient HIV-Positive Children. Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency and Human Retrovirology, 20, pp. 508-513, 1999.