The most popular drugs and human immunodeficiency virus

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks the immune system, making it hard for the body to fight off infection and some diseases. Without treatment, HIV eventually causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).

Initial HIV symptoms are similar to those of the flu and include fatigue, fever, weight loss, and swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, or groin. Although there currently is no cure for HIV infection, a combination of medicines called highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART, helps keeps the immune system healthy for most people. Treatment can also prevent or delay the development of AIDS.

The most popular drugs (excluding alcohol and tobacco) were nitrites (poppers), used by 27% of study participants, and cannabis, cocaine and erectile dysfunction drugs (Viagra¸ Cialis), which were each used by about 20%. Ketamine and MDMA (ecstasy) were used by about 12% of participants, GHB or GBL by 9% and methamphetamine and mephedrone by 7%. All other individual drugs including various opiates, psychedelics, crack and anabolic steroids were used by less than 4% of study participants. Three per cent of the sample reported injecting drug use (68 people) of whom four reported sharing injecting equipment with persons of unknown serostatus.

The pattern for which drugs were most used stayed the same as the number of different drugs increased; in men who had used just one drug in the last three months, poppers were the most popular, closely followed by cannabis; in men who had used three, these two drugs plus cocaine and erectile dysfunction drugs predominated, and in men who had used more than five drugs there was more or less equal use of these drugs plus ketamine, GHB, MDMA and, to a slightly lesser extent, methamphetamine.

Any drug use was especially strongly associated with younger age, smoking, having disclosed they had HIV to partners, and being non-adherent to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Men who reported drug use were also somewhat more likely to have sex with other HIV-positive rather than HIV-negative partners or partners whose HIV status was unknown.

Men who reported using four or more drugs were more likely than other men who used drugs or men who did not use drugs to either not be on ART or to have a viral load over 50 copies/ml, and also to be young and to have a higher proportion of partners who also had HIV.

Compared with men over 60, men under 40 were 70% more likely to use any drug, 50% more likely to have disclosed to partners that they had HIV, 40% more likely to smoke and 30% more likely to be non-adherent to ART.


There was also a strong and consistent correlation between the numbers of different drugs used in the last three months and the various sexual behaviour indicators: the more different drugs people used, the more sex, condom-less sex, risky sex, STIs, group sex and partners they had. For instance, whereas 10% of men who had any drug use had higher-risk condom-less sex, 16% of the men who had used five or more different drugs in the last three months had done so (39 individuals), and whereas 15% of men who had any drug use had been diagnosed with an STI in the last three months, 24% of men who had used five or more drugs had had an STI. This correlation was particularly strong for group sex and number of partners.

In general, men who used drugs were about 40 to 70% more likely to have high-risk sex than men who did not use drugs, while users of ‘club drugs’ like GHB and mephedrone, erectile dysfunction drugs, nitrites (poppers) and cocaine were 90% more likely to have higher-risk sex.

What is Egrifta (Tesamorelin) in life of bodybuilders?

There are a wide variety of drugs that can help bodybuilders achieve major muscle gains and cut fat quickly and efficiently. One of the latest potential bodybuilding drugs is Egrifta the brand name of the drug Tesamorelin.

Traditionally used to help HIV patients reduce body fat around their abdomens, Egrifta is now being tested for use in non-HIV patients. Even more interesting is the fact that some bodybuilders have already gotten a hold of the drug in hopes of vanishing body fat around their waist, and building the ultimate set of abs. So is Egrifta the answer for people who have trouble getting ripped abs? Let’s dive a little deeper into the subject, beginning with the basics of Egrifta.
EGRIFTA (tesamorelin) is an FDA-approved treatment for HIV-related belly fat. More specifically, this injectable prescription medicine cuts down on abdominal fat that’s brought on by lipodystrophy (abnormal body fat composition). The way Egrifta works is by acting on the pituitary cells in the brain so that your body produces more human growth hormone. In short, the drug contains a growth hormone-releasing factor (GRF).

As of right now, Egrifta is not approved for anything other than treating HIV-related abdominal fat deposits. In the past, the drug had been considered a possible solution for improving cardiovascular health in HIV patients, but nothing definitive has been discovered on this front. In fact, there are concerns over whether the product could be just as damaging as it is helpful when treating anything related to the cardiovascular system.

In any case, the only current benefit to using Egrifta is the aforementioned reduction of belly fat in people affected by HIV. But with this being said, many bodybuilders are wondering what the drug can do for their physical appearance.
Those looking to use Egrifta (Tesamorelin) to cut down fat around their mid-section should know right away that there’s no proof it will reduce fat that comes from overeating or not working out.

In regards to using Egrifta, you’re supposed to take a daily injection in the fatty area around the abdomen (never inject the drug directly into a muscle or bruised area). As with pretty much any drug, your chances of properly using Egrifta increase greatly with the help of a doctor, but unless you’ve got HIV, you probably aren’t going to be getting this drug from a doctor.

Moving to the drug’s appearance, Egrifta comes in dry powder form and is packaged in vials; you’re supposed to mix two vials of Egrifta along with one vial of sterile water (comes with the product). Once you’ve mixed the vials together, you’re ready to inject the solution into the aforementioned area to meet daily recommended amounts (2 mg). With everything already being measured out in vials, this cuts down on the confusion for how much Egrifta you’re supposed to take.

The obvious benefit to using Egrifta for bodybuilding purposes is that you could get rid of excess belly fat that normally takes years of religious training and eating clean. Furthermore, the side effects of Egrifta (muscle pain, fluid retention, injection site redness, numbness) are fairly mild in comparison with some of the other fat-cutting drugs that bodybuilders take.

But while all of this sounds great, the unfortunate downside to using Egrifta is that it’s a relatively new drug, so there aren’t a whole lot of non-HIV-related results available. As said before, the drug is currently in FDA trials to measure its effectiveness in non-HIV patients. Of course, it could take years before any solid findings come out of this. Furthermore, there aren’t a ton of bodybuilders out there using Egrifta to cut fat either, so finding experienced users is pretty tough.

Antiretroviral treatment prevents AIDS

Antiretroviral treatment (ART) manages an HIV infection by hampering the ability of the virus to attack the immune system's T-helper cells. ART kills HIV, reducing the risk of opportunistic infections and preventing the number of T-helper cells (CD4 count) dropping, in turn preventing AIDS.

In 2013, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released new recommended guidelines on antiretroviral treatment. They recommend that people start taking ART earlier than before, when their CD4 count is 500 cells/mm3, previously it was 350 cells/mm3. This is due to the wealth of benefits that are seen if people start treatment earlier, including greater success at delaying or eliminating the onset of AIDS.

Significant health gains have been noticed where treatment access has improved, especially among populations with high HIV prevalence. For example, in KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa, life expectancy has risen by 11 years since HIV treatment was scaled up in 2003. An HIV infection will cause a person's health to be compromised if they do not take antiretroviral treatment (ART). Eventually, someone living with HIV who is not taking ART will experience serious health issues and opportunistic infections, leading to AIDS.

People who are taking ART, but who do not adhere to it correctly may find that HIV becomes resistant to their treatment, allowing HIV to reproduce and multiply in their body again. This increases the risk of progressing to AIDS, and is evidence of the cause and effect relationship between HIV and AIDS.

For example, only a quarter of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa have achieved viral suppression (where the level of HIV in their body has become undetectable) because of shortfalls in treatment provision or not adhering to their drugs. In 2012, 1.2 million of the 1.6 million AIDS-related deaths that year were in sub-Saharan Africa.
Even a partially effective HIV vaccine could save millions of lives. Experts have calculated that a vaccine that is 50 percent effective, given to just 30 percent of the population could reduce the number of HIV infections in the developing world by more than half over 15 years. An HIV vaccine that was more than 50 percent effective could cut the infection rate by more than 80 percent.

An HIV vaccine would have a number of key advantages over today’s HIV prevention options. In particular, the protection offered by a vaccine during sex would not depend on the consent of both partners (unlike condom use), and would not require behaviour change (unlike abstinence). An HIV vaccine would also be invaluable for couples wishing to conceive a child while minimising the risk of HIV transmission.

Children could be given an HIV vaccine before ever being exposed to HIV, and ideally this would protect them from all routes of HIV transmission. Vaccinating large numbers of people would probably require relatively little equipment and expertise, and would be much simpler and cheaper than providing antiretroviral treatment for those already infected. An HIV vaccine could be effective in either of two ways. A “preventive” vaccine would stop HIV infection occurring altogether, whereas a “therapeutic” vaccine would not stop infection, but would prevent or delay illness in people who do become infected, and might also reduce the risk of them transmitting the virus to other people. Although a preventive vaccine would be ideal, a therapeutic vaccine would also be highly beneficial.

The basic idea behind all HIV vaccines is to encourage the human immune system to fight HIV. The immune system works using a combination of cells and chemicals called antibodies. Early vaccine research focused on teaching the immune system to produce antibodies that would block HIV entering human cells. However, products designed to work this way failed in clinical trials because the antibodies worked only against lab-cultured HIV, not against the wild strains of the virus. Research has found a very small number of HIV-infected people produce 'broadly neutralising antibodies' to HIV. These antibodies, which neutralise a high percentage of the different types of HIV, are now the basis for new research into vaccine development.

Other research has focused on encouraging the immune system to produce cells to fight HIV. Nevertheless, many scientists believe such “cell-mediated” approaches will not be very effective on their own, even as therapeutic vaccines. It seems likely that a really effective vaccine will have to take a two-pronged approach involving both cells and antibodies.