Marijuana can lead to cognitive dysfunction in HIV patients
New Delhi, Nov 02 (ANI): A new study has linked marijuana use with cognitive dysfunction in people with HIV infection. While researchers at Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), and Boston Medical Center (BMC) did not detect effects of lifetime cumulative exposure, the study showed that more frequent current marijuana use was associated with a measure of cognitive dysfunction on the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey cognitive function scale. The researchers conducted cross-sectional regression analyses on 215 HIV-infected adults diagnosed with substance disorder, based on the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fourth edition). There were no effects detected of alcohol or past marijuana exposure on cognitive function, nor did there appear to be any evidence for synergistic effects on cognition. Furthermore, neither alcohol nor marijuana appeared to affect simple tests of memory or attention. The authors postulated that such effects were not detected, even though they are expected at the least with heavy alcohol use, because of multiple other exposures and comorbid health conditions that participants had.
