Commentary on the interactions of HIV and alcohol in the central nervous system.

This commentary is to highlight the relevance and public interest of the review published by Silverstein and Kumar, which focuses on the mechanisms by which alcohol and HIV-1 infection cause increased in central nervous system (CNS) damage. The overall review is based on previous literature with cell culture systems and animal models that have demonstrated that exposure to alcohol and HIV infection or HIV viral proteins result in synergistic up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress. The authors discuss the effects of alcohol on cells in the CNS, followed by a brief discussion on the impact of HIV-1 and HIV proteins on the CNS, and the final section focuses on the combined effects of HIV and alcohol on the CNS as determined by in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies.