TY - JOUR T1 - Atherosclerosis progression in well controlled HIV infected patients who are addicted to cocaine JF - Journal of Nuclear Medicine JO - J Nucl Med SP - 1682 LP - 1682 VL - 57 IS - supplement 2 AU - Saeid Gholami AU - Toby Mathew AU - Sara Fardin AU - Thomas Kenney AU - Thomas Werner AU - Randee Silverman AU - David Metzger AU - Pablo Tebas AU - Abass Alavi Y1 - 2016/05/01 UR - http://jnm.snmjournals.org/content/57/supplement_2/1682.abstract N2 - 1682Objectives HIV infection has been a major health issue around the globe. These patients live shorter than normal population on average and have higher mortality rate because of several complications of HIV. Cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis is a major contributing factor to AIDS-related mortality even in well controlled patients who are under anti-retroviral therapy. Cocaine abuse is very frequent in HIV infected patients and has multiple adverse effects on them. This drug of abuse is considered as an independent factor associated with atherosclerosis development. In this investigation we studied and compared the state of atherosclerosis by using fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) in controlled HIV infected patients who are addicted to cocaine.Methods Thirty six well controlled HIV infected patients including eighteen cocaine addicted were recruited into two groups and scanned prospectively with FDG-PET/CT. The two groups were matched based on Framingham Risk Score, age and sex. For assessment of atherosclerosis activity, outer boundaries of the vessel wall were delineated by region of interests placed in all trans-axial slices of the aorta to measure FDG uptake. Clinical factors associated with uptake of FDG were also recorded. FDG level of the aortic wall was compared between cocaine abuser and non-abuser HIV infected patients. Association of clinical factors with atherosclerosis detected by FDG uptake was also evaluated.Results Fourteen males and four females were recruited in each group. The mean age was 47.55±7.54 and 48.38±7.92 years for cocaine abuser and non-abuser groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in aortic wall FDG uptake between the two groups (SUVmean; 1.27+/-0.22 Vs. 1.28+/-0.20, P= 0.81, and SUVmax: 1.80+/- 0.28 Vs. 1.85+/-0.27, P=0.59, for abuser and non-abuser groups, respectively). FDG uptake of the vessel wall was not correlated with age and HIV disease duration (P>0.05).Conclusions Both Cocaine and HIV are known for their adverse effects on vessel walls and atherosclerosis, and may be expected to have additive effects. But the results of the present study suggested that well controlled HIV infected patients’ atherosclerosis severity does not change with cocaine abuse and cocaine abuse seems not to have additive or synergistic effects on the atherosclerosis development and progression in these patients. ER -