Alcohol, Drugs of Abuse, and Immune Functions / Edition 1

by Ronald R. Watson

Overview

Substance abusers are an immunocompromised population, vulnerable to a wide array of new and resurgent infectious diseases - in spite of modern treatment. For example, opportunistic infections like tuberculosis are the principal cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV positive patients. Alcohol- and drug-induced disorders are wide-ranging, gaining prominence as the spectrum of emerging diseases broadens.

Alcohol, Drugs of Abuse, and Immune Functions reviews the role of these immunosuppressants as cofactors in disease. It covers the basic biology and immunology of impairments to defense against infectious disease. Alcohol and drug use is consistently associated with immunosuppression, although it isn't known if it is the substance itself, a metabolite, or an indirect effect that alters disease resistance. This text explores the advances toward answering this question, examines alcohol in different settings, its relationship to important cells, and the effects it can have on vital organs such as the liver and the lungs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780849383120
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/04/1995
Series:	Physiology of Substance Abuse , #10
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Watson, Ronald R., PhD (Univ of Arizona)

The contributors represent the specialties of pharmacology, surgery, microbiology, pathology, hepatobiology and toxicology, and immunology. Most are from academic medical centers and medical centers in the U.S. Institutions prominently represented include Univ of Arizona, Univ of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Texas Tech Univ, Univ of Massachusetts, and Thomas Jefferson Univ.

Table of Contents

Immunomodulation Associated with Depression and Stress, E.M. Levy and C. Chancellor-FreelandThe Effect of Alcohol on the Cellular Immune Function in Animals, C.J. Grossman, G. Roselle, and M. NienaberImmunomodulation by Alcohol in Mice, S.K. Ardestani and R.R. WatsonAlcohol and Infections of the Lung, G.A. Roselle, C.J. Grossman, M.A. Neinaber, and C.L. MendenhallT Cell Modulations in Human Alcoholics, R.T. CookAlcoholic Liver Disease, Malnutrition, and the Immune Response, A. ChedidModulation of Cytokine Production in Human Lymphoid and Myeloid Cells by Alcohol In Vitro, G. Szabo, P. Mandrekar, B. Verma, and D. CatalanoAlcohol, Endothelial Cells, and Immunity, P. Borgs, M.H. Witte, and C.L. WitteEffect of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Function and Expression of Glucocorticoid-Regulated Genes, E. Redei, I. Halasz, and F. AirdAlcohol Metabolism and Its Toxicity: Role of Kupffer Cells and Free Radicals, R.G. Thurman, B.U. Bradford, K.T. Knecht, H.D. Connor, R.P. Mason, U. Adachi, M. Goto, C. Sullivan, and D.T. FormanDo Alcohol and Other Substances of Abuse Alter the Natural Evolution and Susceptibility to Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Infections? O. Bagastra, R.J. Pomerantz, and A. Kajdacsa-BallaAlcohol and ImmunomodulationDuring Murine Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Y. Wang, D.S. Huang, and R.R. WatsonDysregulation in Cytokine Production by Alcohol Consumption: A Cofactor in the Development of Murine Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Y. Wang and R.R. WatsonAlcohol Abuse as a Possible Cofactor in the Progression of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome: Do Th-1 and Th-2 Helper T Cell Subsets Play a Role? D.A. CohenThe Role of Alcohol on Endocrine-Immune Interactions, Y. Wang and R.R. WatsonEffects of Cocaine on Certain Macrophage Functions, S.S. Lefkowitz, A. Vaz, and D.L. Lefkowitz

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: John A. Robinson, MD (Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine)
Description: There is very uneven quality of the chapters in this multiauthored text that attempts to confront several topics of intense current interest in the area of alcohol and immune function.
Purpose: It is intended to provide an overview of the subject, but, unfortunately, it may represent a monograph written before its time because there is significant repetition of existing, in part ancient, data on alcohol and immune function. Most of these data are phenomenologic only, and the majority have been published in nonimmunologic journals, which suggests perhaps that the data might not have been as rigorously reviewed as they could have been.
Audience: It is not apparent from the book for whom it is intended; certainly not immunologists or internists.
Features: Curiously, midway into the book there is an abrupt switch to a 62-page discussion of how alcohol might exacerbate HIV infection. If a reader was interested in such a topic and was searching for it only by title, there would be no hint that any such discussion was present in this monograph.
Assessment: It was disappointing that overall no new stimulating hypotheses are convincingly developed or proven that indict alcohol as a significant modulator of immune function with or without HIV infection. The title of the book is a bit misleading because there is only one chapter on the effects of cocaine on macrophages, and the rest of the book is devoted to alcohol; thus, the "Drugs of Abuse" portion of the title is misleading.

Doody's Review Service

2 Stars from Doody

There is very uneven quality of the chapters in this multiauthored text that attempts to confront several topics of intense current interest in the area of alcohol and immune function. It is intended to provide an overview of the subject, but, unfortunately, it may represent a monograph written before its time because there is significant repetition of existing, in part ancient, data on alcohol and immune function. Most of these data are phenomenologic only, and the majority have been published in nonimmunologic journals, which suggests perhaps that the data might not have been as rigorously reviewed as they could have been. It is not apparent from the book for whom it is intended; certainly not immunologists or internists. Curiously, midway into the book there is an abrupt switch to a 62-page discussion of how alcohol might exacerbate HIV infection. If a reader was interested in such a topic and was searching for it only by title, there would be no hint that any such discussion was present in this monograph. It was disappointing that overall no new stimulating hypotheses are convincingly developed or proven that indict alcohol as a significant modulator of immune function with or without HIV infection. The title of the book is a bit misleading because there is only one chapter on the effects of cocaine on macrophages, and the rest of the book is devoted to alcohol; thus, the ^^Drugs of Abuse^^ portion of the title is misleading.

John A. Robinson