San Diego, CA: HIV+ patients who consume cannabis on a daily basis possess lower levels of neuroinflammation as compared to non-users, according to data published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.
Investigators with the University of California, San Diego evaluated the relationship between cannabis use and CNS (central nervous system) inflammation in a cohort of patients with and without HIV.
Researchers reported that HIV+ subjects who consumed cannabis daily possessed lower levels of chronic inflammation than did HIV+ subjects who abstained from marijuana. Further, users’ results were similar to those of HIV- subjects with no history of cannabis use.
Daily consumers also achieved better on measurements of cognitive performance than did those HIV+ patients with no history of regular use – a finding that is consistent with prior analyses of HIV+ patients.
Authors concluded, “Taken together, findings are consistent with the notion that cannabinoids may modulate inflammatory processes in PWH [patients with HIV], specifically in the CNS, and suggest a link between lower CNS inflammation and better neurocognitive function. … Future studies in PWH are needed to investigate potential distinct effects of specific cannabinoids, and adult medicinal use, on brain structure and function.”
Full text of the study, “Daily cannabis use is associated with lower CNS inflammation in people with HIV,” appears in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. Additional information on cannabis and HIV is available from NORML.