PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY AND HIV INFECTION

我研究的总体目标是确定心理社会过程 可作为辅助因子发挥作用，促进艾滋病毒的疾病进展 血清阳性者，并培养有针对性的心理社会 可以改善病程的干预措施。在过去五年中 多年来，我一直在刻画艾滋病毒阳性同性恋的心理社会反应 男性对艾滋病流行产生的两个主要压力源的反应： 死亡和丧亲的威胁。我已经决定， 以下反应与免疫过程和预后有关 对艾滋病的发展：特定的情感反应(抑郁 VS悲痛)，影响调控策略，阴性艾滋病毒特异性 对重要的人生目标抱有期望，却缺乏投入。一个中环 免疫介体似乎是免疫激活。 今后五年的具体目标是：1)继续精细化 这些反应的概念化和测量及其 生物相关性，2)通过转移到研究来扩展这项研究 对携带艾滋病毒的妇女的研究，3)确定基础的生物途径 这些关系，4)评估各种干预措施的影响 关于生活质量、免疫过程和疾病进程的策略 HIV，以及5)分离有效的心理治疗的关键亚成分 干预措施。

The overall goal of my research is to determine if psychosocial processes can function as cofactors and contribute to disease progression in HIV seropositive individuals, and to develop targeted psychosocial interventions that can improve the course of disease. Over the past five years I have characterized the psychosocial responses of HIV positive gay men to two of the primary stressors that occur with the AIDS epidemic: the threat of mortality and bereavement. I have determined that the following responses are associated with immunologic processes prognostic for the development of AIDS: specific affective responses (depression versus grief), affect regulation strategies, negative HIV-specific expectancies and lack of engagement with important life goals. A central immunologic mediator appears to be immune activation. The specific aims for the next five years are 1) to continue to refine the conceptualization and measurement of these responses and their biological correlates, 2) to extend this research by shifting to studies of women with HIV, 3) to determine the biological pathways that underlie these relationships, 4) to evaluate the impact of various intervention strategies on quality of life, immunologic processes and the course of HIV, and 5) to isolate key psychotherapeutic sub-components of effective interventions.