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Brian Vastag

JAMA. 2001;286:295.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Upward of 30% of HIV/AIDS patients nationwide are intravenous drug users, yet little is known about interactions among the drugs of abuse, their treatments, and treatments for HIV infection. With new antiretroviral drugs and more treatments for cocaine and heroin addiction in the clinical pipeline, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has bolstered efforts to study possible drug-drug interactions. Recently, the institute held the first workshop on the topic and found serious gaps in knowledge.

Anecdotal reports and some case studies show that methadone can interact with protease inhibitors, said Jag Khalsa, PhD, of NIDA's Center on AIDS and Other Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse. Because methadone and protease inhibitors share a metabolic pathway, Khalsa said patients taking both might experience reduced efficacy and increased adverse effects. That could hamper efforts to keep patients adhering to the treatment drug regimens, said Khalsa. But, he added, "interest is . . . [Full Text of this Article]