Introduction

This meeting was planned, organized and conducted by Lan-Hsiang Wang, Ph.D., of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Jag H. Khalsa, Ph.D., of the Center on AIDS and Other Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse (CAMCODA), within the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH. A group of nationally and internationally recognized clinicians and scientists presented and discussed:

• Current data on etiology and underlying pathophysiology of cardiovascular complications of HIV/AIDS, and substance abuse (cocaine, alcohol) and HIV infection

• In vitro tests and in vivo models for the study of cardiovascular complications (e.g., cardiomyopathy) of HIV and substance abuse

• Endothelial function in HIV infection

• The problems of design and conducting such studies in clinical populations

Finally, the attendees made recommendations for future research. The recommendations included the study of:

• The role of co-infections in HIV-related cardiovascular complications

• Genetic predisposition for transition to dilated cardiomyopathy

• Mechanisms of cardiac cell injury in HIV-related cardiovascular complications

• The role of antiretroviral therapy

• The role of HIV and related components in cardiac myocytes

• Immune cell-cardiac myocyte interactions

• Metabolic/energetic mechanisms that may include the role of mitochondrial function in CV complications

• Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) influences

• The conduct of preclinical investigations and clinical therapeutics and prevention trials

The attendees also recommended that NHLBI, NIDA, and NIH should maintain and enhance the momentum already established by this group of grantees by issuing additional solicitations and/or encouraging this type of research by providing additional funding for resource sharing or access to core facilities.

Since many investigators presented new and unpublished data, it was agreed that only the agenda of the meeting and the list of participants should be placed on this website. An executive summary of the proceedings is in preparation for publication in a professional journal. For programmatic guidance, investigators are encouraged to contact Dr. Lan-Hsiang Wang (NHLBI) or Dr. Jag Khalsa (NIDA).

Agenda

Roster

NIDA Home | Site Map | Search | FAQs | Accessibility | Privacy | FOIA (NIH) | Employment | _ The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Questions? See our Contact Information. Last updated on Tuesday, February 27, 2001.