Abstract #1494

Cloak C, Chang L, Donahoe R, O'Neil S, Ernst T, Anderson D

Synopsis: We evaluated possible interactive effects of opiates and immunodeficiency virus infections on the brain in a rhesus macaque primate model. Frontal gray matter, frontal white matter, putamen, and caudate brain extracts from morphine-dependent and saline-control monkeys, infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIVsmm9), were studied with ex vivo 1HMRS. Morphine-exposed monkeys had significantly higher frontal white matter N-acetyl compounds than saline-controls, suggesting a protective effect of morphine. Several other interesting trends were observed. This study improves our understanding of how opiates affect AIDS progression and shows the feasibility of using the SIV model and 1HMRS to study HIV1-opioid interactions.