Treatment with antidepressants does not increase the risk of any kind of cancer in people with HIV, according to a UK study published in the May 10th edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The researchers looked at the use of both older tricyclic antidepressants and more modern SSRI antidepressants, such as fluoxetine, by people with HIV in both the period before and after effective anti-HIV treatment became available. No link between the use of antidepressants was found in any time period.
There is conflicting information about the link between use of both tricyclic and SSRI antidepressants and the risk of cancer. Some studies have suggested a link between their use and the risk of some cancers, but others have not. By contrast, some research has suggested that treatment with SSRI antidepressants could have an anti-cancer effect in patients with Burkitt lymphoma.
No study has looked at the link between treatment with tricyclic or SSRI antidepressants and the risk of cancer in people with HIV in either the period before or after effective anti-HIV treatment became available. Nor has any study previously looked for a possible link between cancer and treatment with antidepressants and the individual classes of antiretroviral drugs.
READ MORE @ AIDSMAP
Showing posts with label HIV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HIV. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Do antidepressants enhance immune function? - Ex vivo results from HIV positive individuals with and without depression
Infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which leads to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), is an epidemic of global concern. According to the most recent estimates, released in November 2007, by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 33.2 million worldwide are living with HIV infection currently. Although the rates of infection appear to be decreasing, there are obviously immense implications for achieving improvements in HIV/AIDS treatment.
The functioning of natural killer (NK) cells, which are a major element of the innate immunity system and are involved in the body’s first line of defense against infections such as HIV, is decreased in both HIV and depression. A group of researchers who have previously found that stress and depression impair NK cell function and accelerate the course of HIV/AIDS are now publishing a new report in the May 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry.
In this study, they recruited both depressed and non-depressed HIV-infected women and studied the ex vivo effects of three drugs, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), a substance P antagonist, and a glucocorticoid antagonist, on their NK cell activity. These drugs were selected because, as the authors state, each “affect[s] underlying regulatory systems that have been extensively investigated in both stress and depression research as well as immune and viral research.” The scientists found that the SSRI citalopram, and the substance P antagonist CP 96,345, but not the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU486, increased NK cell activity. According to Dr. Dwight Evans, corresponding author of the article: “The present findings provide evidence that natural killer cell function in HIV infection may be enhanced by selective serotonin reuptake inhibition and also by substance P antagonism in both depressed and non-depressed individuals.”
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
The functioning of natural killer (NK) cells, which are a major element of the innate immunity system and are involved in the body’s first line of defense against infections such as HIV, is decreased in both HIV and depression. A group of researchers who have previously found that stress and depression impair NK cell function and accelerate the course of HIV/AIDS are now publishing a new report in the May 1st issue of Biological Psychiatry.
In this study, they recruited both depressed and non-depressed HIV-infected women and studied the ex vivo effects of three drugs, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), a substance P antagonist, and a glucocorticoid antagonist, on their NK cell activity. These drugs were selected because, as the authors state, each “affect[s] underlying regulatory systems that have been extensively investigated in both stress and depression research as well as immune and viral research.” The scientists found that the SSRI citalopram, and the substance P antagonist CP 96,345, but not the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU486, increased NK cell activity. According to Dr. Dwight Evans, corresponding author of the article: “The present findings provide evidence that natural killer cell function in HIV infection may be enhanced by selective serotonin reuptake inhibition and also by substance P antagonism in both depressed and non-depressed individuals.”
READ MORE @ EUREKALERT
Monday, January 7, 2008
Antidepressants Help HIV-Infected Patients Stick to Treatment
People with HIV who suffer from depression are much less likely to stick with their treatment regimens, new research shows.
However, treating their depression with widely used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants can get them back on track, the researchers said.
A team from Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., analyzed the mental health, disease progression and treatment data of almost 3,400 HIV-infected patients nationwide between 2000 and 2003. All patients were starting a new, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).
Reporting in the current online issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, they found that almost half of the study participants (42 percent) had depression during the 12-month study. Those who were depressed were less likely to take their medications and had worse viral response than people who were not depressed. However, when depressed people took prescribed SSRIs -- which include drugs such as Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft -- they had the same health outcomes as patients who were not depressed.
READ MORE @ FORBES
However, treating their depression with widely used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants can get them back on track, the researchers said.
A team from Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., analyzed the mental health, disease progression and treatment data of almost 3,400 HIV-infected patients nationwide between 2000 and 2003. All patients were starting a new, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).
Reporting in the current online issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, they found that almost half of the study participants (42 percent) had depression during the 12-month study. Those who were depressed were less likely to take their medications and had worse viral response than people who were not depressed. However, when depressed people took prescribed SSRIs -- which include drugs such as Celexa, Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft -- they had the same health outcomes as patients who were not depressed.
READ MORE @ FORBES
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
