NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A doctor at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans has been awarded a $2.7 million, five-year grant to develop and test a program to curb problem drinking in people who have HIV or AIDS.
Dr. Patricia Molina is the medical center's head of physiology. She says alcohol can make medicines less effective against the virus, and make people less likely to take them on schedule. It's also linked to an increased chance of infection and to increased viral growth.
She will lead a team of scientists working with doctors at LSU's HIV Outpatient Clinic and its School of Public Health. They'll enroll 250 people who have the virus, comparing those who get the behavioral program with those who don't in virus levels, alcohol use, HIV risk behaviors and taking medicine.
