7 results on '"Abadie, Roberto"'
Search Results
2. Immune profiling in Puerto Rican injection drug users with and without HIV-1 infection.
- Author
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Bennett, Sydney J, Davila, Carmen Ana, Reyes, Zahiraliz, Valentín-Acevedo, Aníbal, Gocchi Carrasco, Kim, Abadie, Roberto, Marlin, M Caleb, Beel, Marci, Chapple, Andrew G, Fernando, Samodha, Guthridge, Joel M, Chiou, Kathy S, Dombrowski, Kirk, West, John T, and Wood, Charles
- Subjects
DRUG abuse ,DRUG abusers ,IMMUNE reconstitution inflammatory syndrome ,HIV infections ,HIV ,HIV-positive persons - Abstract
Antiretroviral therapy has been effective in suppressing HIV viral load and enabling people living with HIV to experience longer, more conventional lives. However, as people living with HIV are living longer, they are developing aging-related diseases prematurely and are more susceptible to comorbidities that have been linked to chronic inflammation. Coincident with HIV infection and aging, drug abuse has also been independently associated with gut dysbiosis, microbial translocation, and inflammation. Here, we hypothesized that injection drug use would exacerbate HIV-induced immune activation and inflammation, thereby intensifying immune dysfunction. We recruited 50 individuals not using injection drugs (36/50 HIV
+ ) and 47 people who inject drugs (PWID, 12/47 HIV+ ). All but 3 of the HIV+ subjects were on antiretroviral therapy. Plasma immune profiles were characterized by immunoproteomics, and cellular immunophenotypes were assessed using mass cytometry. The immune profiles of HIV+ /PWID− , HIV− /PWID+ , and HIV+ /PWID+ were each significantly different from controls; however, few differences between these groups were detected, and only 3 inflammatory mediators and 2 immune cell populations demonstrated a combinatorial effect of injection drug use and HIV infection. In conclusion, a comprehensive analysis of inflammatory mediators and cell immunophenotypes revealed remarkably similar patterns of immune dysfunction in HIV-infected individuals and in people who inject drugs with and without HIV-1 infection. A comprehensive analysis of inflammatory mediators and cell immunophenotypes revealed remarkably similar patterns of immune dysfunction in people living with HIV and injection drug use with and without HIV-1 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2023
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- View/download PDF
3. “The Drug Sellers Were Better Organized than the Government”: A Qualitative Study of Participants’ Views of Drug Markets during COVID-19 and Other Big Events
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Abadie, Roberto
- Subjects
COVID-19 ,Hurricane Maria ,big events ,natural disasters ,PWID ,drug markets ,harm reduction - Abstract
“Big events”, such as wars, economic crises, pandemics, or natural disasters, affect the risk environment in which people use drugs. While the impact of big events on injection risk behaviors and access to drug-treatment services is well documented, less is known about the effects of big events on drug markets. Based on self-reporting data on drug availability among people who use drugs (PWUD) in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and during the COVID-19 lockdown in a Midwestern US state, this study aims to document the effects of big events on drug markets. Qualitative data on the effects of Hurricane Maria on drug markets are based on participants’ self-reporting (N = 31). Data collection started after the hurricane and ended in 2020. Data on changes to the drug supply during the COVID-19 lockdown were collected based on semi-structured interviews with PWUD (N = 40) in a Midwestern US state. Findings show that while the drug markets might have initially been affected by big events, most effects were temporary. Drug availability, pricing, and quality might have suffered some initial fluctuations but stabilized as the drug markets absorbed the initial shocks caused by the hurricane and the lockdown measures. In preparation for increasingly more frequent and virulent pandemics and natural disasters, health infrastructures should be strengthened to prevent not only overdose episodes and deaths but also drug-related harms.
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- 2023
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4. "Money Helps": People who inject drugs and their perceptions of financial compensation and its ethical implications.
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Abadie, Roberto, Brown, Brandon, and Fisher, Celia B.
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ENDOWMENTS , *EPIDEMIOLOGICAL research , *HIV , *INTERPERSONAL relations , *INTERVIEWING , *INTRAVENOUS drug abusers , *HUMAN research subjects - Abstract
This study documents how people who inject drugs (PWID) in rural Puerto Rico perceive payments for participating in HIV epidemiological studies. In-depth interviews were conducted among a subset (n = 40) of active PWID older than 18 years of age who had been previously enrolled in a much larger study (N = 360). Findings suggest that financial compensation was the main motivation for initially enrolling in the parent study. Then, as trust in the researchers developed, participants came to perceive compensation as part of a reciprocal exchange in which they assisted researchers by providing a trustful account of their experiences and researchers reciprocated with financial support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
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5. Injection Partners, HCV, and HIV Status among Rural Persons Who Inject Drugs in Puerto Rico.
- Author
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Habecker, Patrick, Abadie, Roberto, Welch-Lazoritz, Melissa, Reyes, Juan Carlos, Khan, Bilal, and Dombrowski, Kirk
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HEPATITIS C diagnosis ,HIV infections ,HEPATITIS C prevention ,INTRAVENOUS drug abusers - Abstract
This study examines how injection networks of rural people who inject drugs (PWID) in Puerto Rico vary by self-reported/perceived hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV statuses. Interviews were conducted with 315 respondents who reported injecting drugs in the past 30 days. Analysis shows that self-perceived HCV status is significantly associated with injection risk network size. The ego networks of perceived HCVrespondents are half what is reported by those with a positive or unknown status. Unknown HIV status is associated with larger injection networks compared to those with a self-perceived HIV positive status. These findings suggests that testing and counseling intervention strategies may only be effective for those who receive a HCV-diagnosis; assuming a conscious link between status and network size. Successful interventions to curb hepatitis C spread by injectors may require approaches which focus on early preventative testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
6. Understanding differences in HIV/HCV prevalence according to differentiated risk behaviors in a sample of PWID in rural Puerto Rico.
- Author
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Abadie, Roberto, Welch-Lazoritz, Melissa, Gelpi-Acosta, Camila, Reyes, Juan Carlos, and Dombrowski, Kirk
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HIV , *HEPATITIS C transmission , *INTRAVENOUS drug abusers , *DISEASE risk factors , *LOGISTIC regression analysis - Abstract
Background: Blood contained in needles and injection equipment has been identified as a vector for HIV and HCV transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID). Yet, there is often a wide discrepancy in prevalence for both viruses. While microbiological differences between viruses influence prevalence, other variables associated with the way drugs are acquired and used, also play a role. Methods: Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) methods recruited a sample of 315 current intravenous drug users in rural Puerto Rico. Information about type and frequency of use, HIV and HVC risk behaviors (sharing needles, cookers, cotton, and water), sexual behaviors, and alcohol use was collected. HIV and HCV statuses were assessed via rapid antibody tests. T tests compare means of participants who tested positive (reactive) to those who tested negative. Logistic regression analyses were used to validate the association of the risk factors involved. Results: Tests showed a significant difference in HIV (6 %) and HCV (78.4 %) prevalence among a population of current PWID. The main risk behaviors in HCV transmission are the sharing of injection “works”, (e.g., cookers, cotton, and water). Sharing works occurred more than twice as often as the sharing of needles, and HCV+ and HCV− individuals reported the same needle sharing habits. Conclusions: Washing and rinsing injection works with water seems to prevent HIV transmission, but it is unable to prevent HCV infection. While education about the need to clean injection equipment with bleach might be beneficial, equipment sharing—and the subsequent risk of HVC—might be unavoidable in a context where participants are forced to pool resources to acquire and use intravenous drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2016
7. Treatment trajectories and barriers in opioid agonist therapy for people who inject drugs in rural Puerto Rico.
- Author
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Abadie, Roberto, McLean, Katherine, Habecker, Patrick, and Dombrowski, Kirk
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OPIOID abuse , *HEALTH services accessibility , *HIV infection transmission , *DRUG addiction , *DRUG accessibility , *HIV infections , *NARCOTICS , *SUBSTANCE abuse , *INTRAVENOUS drug abuse , *ANALGESICS , *DRUGS , *RESEARCH funding - Abstract
Background: Research has shown medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) to have positive effects, including reducing HIV and HCV transmission, but important barriers to access remain among people who inject drugs (PWID). Barriers include lack of social and familial support, bureaucracy, distance to treatment, poverty, and homelessness. However, we know little about how these barriers interact with each other to shape PWID's drug treatment access and retention.Methods: We used qualitative methods with a dataset from a study conducted during 2019 with 31 active PWID residing in rural Puerto Rico. The study gathered ethnographic data and narratives about treatment trajectories to document the lived experiences of PWID as they moved in and out of treatment.Results: Participants were at least 18 years old; 87.7% were male, the mean age was 44.1 years, and the mean age at first injection was 22 years. Participants identified homelessness, lack of proper ID or other identifying documents, and previous negative experiences with MOUD as the main barriers to treatment entry and retention. In addition, PWID's belief that MOUD simply substitutes an illegal drug for a legal one, while furthering drug dependence by chronically subjecting patients to treatment, constitutes an additional barrier to entry. Findings from this study demonstrate that MOUD barriers to access and retention compound and are severely affected by poverty and other forms of vulnerability among PWID in rural Puerto Rico.Conclusion: Policies to increase access and retention should consider barriers not in isolation but as an assemblage of many factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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