WASHINGTON -- Six medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are joining forces in a major study to look at how excessive drinking impacts aging veterans with and without HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) infection.
Funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the study will cost $8 million over five years. Doctors will focus on how alcohol use affects patients' quality of life and their risks for illness or death. Additionally, they will study how alcohol interacts with HIV treatment.
"HIV and AIDS are a rapidly changing area of health care," said Dr. Lawrence R.
Deyton, who heads VA's HIV and hepatitis C programs. "Research is key to ensuring veterans with HIV receive the highest quality of care. VA is proud to work with NIAAA and the National Institute of Health to study how HIV, alcohol use and other common medical conditions interact and the impact they have on veterans who are living with HIV."
Approximately 2,000 HIV-positive veterans and 2,000 HIV-negative veterans will participate in the research. Headed by Dr. Amy Justice of the PittsburghVeteransAffairsMedicalCenter, five other VA facilities will also participate, including Manhattan and Bronx, N.Y.; Atlanta; Los Angeles, and Houston.
"With the availability of many drugs to treat HIV, the infection is now a manageable chronic disease. But now we must learn how best to use these powerful new drugs and, at the same time, take care of our patients’ other common health care issues such as alcohol use, heart disease, diabetes and psychiatric conditions," said Deyton.
Researchers suspect that alcohol use plays an important role in increased rates of HIV infection, clinical manifestations of the disease, mortality risk and co-illnesses like tuberculosis, hepatitis C and depression among people aging with HIV infection. Results will be used to develop tailored interventions for HIV-infected veterans who use alcohol.
"VA's large network of medical centers and clinics and its vast patient population provide an excellent system for multicenter clinical trials, group studies, drug treatment trials and vaccine studies," said Deyton. "In addition to this new study, VA conducts wide-ranging research in HIV and AIDS, from basic studies of the mechanisms of AIDS to clinical trials and assessments of the costs of patient care. Special research initiatives, such as this one, are a critical part of VA's response to HIV."
VA is the nation's largest, single provider of health care to those infected with HIV. Nearly 50,000 people with HIV infection and AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) have been treated in VA since the disease was first recognized in the United States in 1981. Today, more than 20,000 patients with HIV infection are treated at VA facilities across the nation.
