Two of the most interesting questions often asked about AIDS is why many people do not become immunodeficient or get complicating disease when first infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and what are the "risk factors" making some individuals more susceptible to the disease. A large majority of people with AIDS have a well established history of drug and alcohol abuse. Both drugs of abuse and alcohol have immunotoxic properties as evidenced by a number of studies. These include marked changes in the cellular, humoral and other components of the immune defense mechanism. Such a compromise of the immune system can render it susceptible to the development of AIDS after HIV infection. This paper reviews the evidence suggesting possible links between substance abuse and its immunotoxicology, and their possible roles in the pathogenesis of AIDS.

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An analysis of lymphocyte subpopulations was done in patients with cancer of the uterine cervix before and at different intervals after the commencement of radiation therapy. A common feature was a duration of T-cell and B-cell lymphopenia after therapy. The findings relating to the T-cell subsets were interesting. Although the CD4/CD8 ratio remained unchanged in Stages I/IIA for 24 months after treatment, patients with Stages IIB and III showed a lowering of the ratio immediately after treatment. Distinctive patterns of lymphocyte subset distribution were seen in a comparison between patients who were disease-free and those with recurrent disease. The CD4+ cell counts and CD4/CD8 ratio differed between the two groups, with consistent lowered values during the follow-up associated with recurrent disease. This study demonstrates the effects of radiation therapy in altering lymphocyte subset distribution, resulting in characteristic patterns which could be used as clinical and prognostic indicators.

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