Granulocyte abnormalities in parenteral drug-addicts. The influence of HIV infection

In the present paper we studied the phagocytic capacity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and their capacity to adherence to substrates, in parenteral drug-addicts with or without HIV infection. Our results show a significant decrease in the phagocytic index of drug-addicts, which is independent of the coexistence of an HIV infection. The simultaneous presence of this virus leads to the emergence of alterations in the leukocytic adhesiveness, with a decrease in adhesiveness that is more marked in AIDS patients. The simultaneous association of drug addiction with AIDS leads to the impairment of these two stages in the leukocyte defense.