Daily marijuana use was associated with lower neurocognitive deficits and reduced signs of chronic inflammation in people with HIV receiving antiretroviral therapy, according to a new study published ahead of print by bioRxiv from researchers at the University of California.
The study examined monocyte-derived macrophages, a type of immune cell, from 50 people with HIV and 33 people without HIV, with participants grouped based on how often they used marijuana: naïve or low use, moderate use, or daily use. The average age of participants was 61.9.
Researchers found that among people with HIV, daily marijuana use was linked to a less inflammatory and more neuroprotective immune profile. According to the study, these changes included a metabolic shift away from glycolysis and toward oxidative phosphorylation, increased mitochondrial numbers, reduced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, increased expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines, and higher levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF.
The researchers also identified corresponding changes in blood plasma. People with HIV who used marijuana daily had lower levels of growth differentiation factor 15 and soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2, along with higher ratios of mature BDNF to precursor BDNF. Those ratios were associated with better cognitive performance.
The findings add to a growing body of research suggesting marijuana may have anti-inflammatory effects in certain patient populations. In this case, the authors say marijuana use may help reduce neurocognitive impairment in people with HIV by reprogramming immune cell activity into a state that is less inflammatory and more supportive of brain health.
Because the study was published as a preprint, it has not yet gone through the peer-review process. Even so, the results provide fresh evidence that marijuana’s effects on immune metabolism could play an important role in protecting cognition among people living with HIV.
