Is methadone harmful for MMT patients with HIV/AIDS?
Research in MMT patients has demonstrated that methadone does not make HIV or AIDS worse, nor does methadone interfere with treatment for this viral infection. However, there has been some confusion regarding this. Laboratory experiments reported in 2002 from the University of Pennsylvania found that the HIV virus was able to more easily infect certain cells when methadone was added to the mix in a test tube. Also, when methadone was added to cells in which the HIV infection was inactive, the virus began to grow again. These cells, however, were not from MMT patients, so nothing can be said here about HIV in such patients. Other research had found that steady doses of methadone actually inhibit viral activity. Of interest, the methadone doses used in the Pennsylvania experiments were extremely low. Similarly, other experiments had shown that very low, inadequate doses of methadone can hinder the immune system, possibly allowing infections like HIV to become worse. Studies in human subj
