cannabisnews.com: HIV and Cannabis May Mix After All HIV and Cannabis May Mix After All Posted by CN Staff on August 20, 2003 at 10:04:17 PT Press Release Source: HealthScout.com Short-term use of medical marijuana causes no harm to people with HIV who are on combination antiretroviral therapy, says a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study.Researchers found no harmful changes in HIV levels in the participants when they smoked marijuana or took dronabinol, an oral medical cannabinoid. The 25-day study included 62 HIV-infected people on antiretroviral regimens containing a protease inhibitor. The volunteers were divided into three groups: 20 smoked marijuana, 22 received dronabinol, and 20 received an oral placebo.Researchers measured changes in HIV levels in the blood of the volunteers as well as the counts for CD 4 and CD 8 T lymphocyte cells, which are disease-fighting white blood cells that defend against infection and are targeted and destroyed by the AIDS virus.In all three groups, patients with detectable levels of HIV had no change in the levels of virus in their blood. CD 4 T-cell counts increased by about 20 per cent for both the groups that used marijuana and dronabinol. CD 8 T-cell counts increased by 20 per cent in the marijuana group and by 10 per cent in the dronabinol group.There was no increase in CD 4 or CD 8 T-cell counts in the placebo group.The study was published in the Aug. 19 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine."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," study author Dr. Donald Abrams, a USCF professor of clinical medicine, says in a news release."People with HIV are a vulnerable population, so successfully addressing the safety concerns allows us to move on to effectiveness studies, three of which are currently under way here," Abrams says.Note: HealthDay is the new name for HealthScoutNews.More information:Here's where you can learn more about marijuana and pain relief.: http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?id=MH00015Source: HealthScout.comPublished: August 20, 2003Copyright: 2003 Healthscout.com Website: http://www.healthscout.com/Contact: editors healthscoutnews.com Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htm UCSF Study Finds No Harm to HIV+ Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17093.shtmlMarijuana Use Does Not Accelerate HIV Infectionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17092.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by phil_debowl on August 20, 2003 at 14:19:29 PT Improvement I'm not a doctor, so i'm probably totally off on this, but from what I've been able to decifer from all the articles about this study, is cannabis actually improves the immune system in these people. Am I correct? If so, why can't they just say that, instead seemingly going out of their way to not say it helps. Again, my perceptions maybe wrong :). [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by druid on August 20, 2003 at 13:33:12 PT Mayo Clinic I followed the link to the Mayo Clinic and was pleasantly surprised at the info I found there. They actually have a lot of factual and accurate information. Though they do have a small bit of the typical propaganda. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment