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. 1994 Oct;102(10):858–861. doi: 10.1289/ehp.94102858

Nitrite inhalants: history, epidemiology, and possible links to AIDS.

H W Haverkos 1, A N Kopstein 1, H Wilson 1, P Drotman 1
PMCID: PMC1567358  PMID: 9644194

Abstract

Nitrite inhalants have been commonly abused substances in the United States. Nitrite inhalants and AIDS was a popular topic in the early 1980s, when the cause of AIDS was not known. With the discovery of HIV, concern about nitrite use in the USA waned. However, nitrite inhalant use is associated with behavioral relapse and HIV transmission among gay men, with decreased lymphocyte counts and natural killer cell activity in a few laboratory studies, and it remains a candidate cofactor in the pathogenesis of AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma. Discouraging nitrite use continues to be a worthwhile public health goal.

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Selected References

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