MAPP-SD, a project of Prairie View Prevention Services, Inc., is a comprehensive Methamphetamine awareness and prevention project. 
MAPP-SD is dedicated to:
u   Increase awareness of Meth and the problems associated with its use, manufacture and distribution;
u Provide, at no cost, professional Meth awareness and prevention education to groups and organizations on a community, regional and statewide level;
u Be a no-cost, ongoing resource for South Dakota citizens to deal with issues rising from the manufacture, use and distribution of Meth.

Meth Opens Path for AIDS
in Users’ Bodies

Scientists have long known that Meth use creates a kind of euphoria that can lead to increased risky behavior and contribute to the spread of HIV infection.  Now, researchers have shown a second way that Meth increases the risk of infection and can speed up the pace of the disease. It is at the level of the virus interacting with the cells of the body, at the same juncture that is responsible for the pleasurable effects of Meth. 

A cellular biologist at the University at Buffalo examined a part of the immune system (dendritic cells) that the HIV virus initially latches onto when entering a body.  He followed the action of Meth as it attached itself to dopamine receptors on cells.  The drug somehow forces the creation of more of a specific molecule that HIV grabs on to near the surface of the skin.  Then, the cells with the HIV attached travels deeper into the immune system.  The sheer number of virus molecules attached to the Meth-activated dendritc cells overwhelms the natural defensive cells (T-cells) of the human body.

The study was published online on Aug. 4 in the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology.