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. 2006 Mar;1(1):65-76.
doi: 10.1007/s11481-005-9005-z.

Combined and independent effects of chronic marijuana use and HIV on brain metabolites

L Chang  1 , C Cloak, R Yakupov, T Ernst
Affiliations

Combined and independent effects of chronic marijuana use and HIV on brain metabolites

L Chang et al. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2006 Mar.

Abstract

The effects of chronic marijuana (MJ) use on brain function remain controversial. Because MJ is often used by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether chronic MJ use and HIV infection are associated with interactive or additive effects on brain chemistry and cognitive function. We evaluated 96 subjects (30 seronegative nondrug users, 24 MJ users, 21 HIV without MJ use, 21 HIV + MJ) using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and a battery of neuropsychological tests. The two primarily abstinent MJ user groups showed no significant differences on calculated estimates of lifetime grams of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol exposure, despite some differences in usage pattern. The two HIV groups also had similar HIV disease severity (CD4 cell count, plasma viral load, HIV dementia staging, Karnofsky score). On two-way analyses of covariance, HIV infection (independent of MJ) was associated with trends for reduced N-acetyl aspartate (NA) in the parietal white matter and increased choline compounds (CHO) in the basal ganglia. In contrast, MJ (independent of HIV) was associated with decreased basal ganglia NA (-5.5%, p = 0.05), CHO (-10.6%, p = 0.04), and glutamate (-9.5%, p = 0.05), with increased thalamic creatine (+6.1%, p = 0.05). HIV + MJ was associated with normalization of the reduced glutamate in frontal white matter (interaction p = 0.01). After correction for age, education, or mood differences, MJ users had no significant abnormalities on neuropsychological test performance, and HIV subjects only had slower reaction times. These findings suggest chronic MJ use may lead to decreased neuronal and glial metabolites, but may normalize the decreased glutamate in HIV patients.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Localized MRS was performed in six brain regions, indicated by white boxes on coronal T2-weighted MRI scans (left). The graphs at the top right show representative spectra from the frontal white matter of one subject from each group. Also, the glutamate concentration ([GLU]) in the frontal white matter region showed a significant interaction between HIV serostatus and marijuana use, in that HIV infection or marijuana use alone were associated with reduced [GLU], whereas seropositive MJ users had essentially normal [GLU]. WM: white matter; NA: N-acetyl peak; GLU: glutamate; CR: total creatine; CHO: choline-containing compounds; MI: myo-inositol; MJ: marijuana; CON: control group
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Bar graphs of several metabolites that show significant effects of HIV infection and/or marijuana use (left and middle columns). The graphs on the right depict some of the significant correlations between brain metabolite levels and measures of marijuana use. GLU: glutamate; CHO: choline-containing compounds; MJ: marijuana; CON: control group
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