INTRODUCTION

November 26-27, 2001

Presented by:
Center on AIDS and Other Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse
National Institute on Drug Abuse
Office of Dietary Supplements
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
National Institutes of Health

The workshop was organized by Jag H. Khalsa, Ph.D., Paul Coulis, Ph.D., Sander Genser, M.D., M.P.H., and Henry (Skip) Francis, M.D. (Director) of the Center on AIDS and Other Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse (CAMCODA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). It was co-sponsored by the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), all parts of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The group of nationally and internationally recognized clinicians and scientists reviewed the published research findings and presented new information on metabolic and endocrine complications of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse and various conventional and alternative (e.g., dietary supplements, exercise, herbal products) interventions. The topics included the underlying pathophysiology of metabolic complications (lipid disorders [lipodystrophy], bone disorder, insulin resistance, oxidative stress), role of mitochondria and nutrition in metabolic complications; opportunistic illnesses; endocrine complications and the use of growth hormone and other non-conventional interventions used for the treatment of HIV/AIDS complications. Finally, the group made recommendations for future research among HIV-infected individuals who may or may not be abusing drugs of abuse. Participants also agreed that the proceedings should be published in a professional scientific journal. A brief summary of the workshop that includes agenda, abstracts, recommendations for future research, and a list of participants follow.