Italo Mocchetti, PhD

Professor
Director, Training Program in NeuroHIV

The primary focus of Dr. Mocchetti’s research program at Georgetown University is to develop new biotherapies for human neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and neurocognitive disorders caused by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Currently, Dr. Mocchetti’s group is using animal models to characterize the molecular and cellular mechanisms utilized by HIV to promote neuronal degeneration. The team has recently demonstrated that the neurotoxic effects of HIV proteins include damage to synapses, impaired mitochondrial function, reduced axonal transport, and loss of brain-derived-neurotrophic factor (BDNF). These neurotoxic effects are exacerbated by the use of opioids and blocked by synthetic compounds that inhibit HIV proteins. These results raise a legitimate hope that these compounds could be used as therapeutic tools against neural degeneration caused by HIV and drugs of abuse.

“Cold Turkey” Withdrawal Triggers Mental Decline in Animals

Georgetown University Medical Center researchers have found that stopping morphine “cold turkey” in addicted animal models causes a serious decline in mental health, a finding that could lead to better ways of helping people quit harmful drugs.

“Over time, drug-abusing individuals often develop mental disorders,” says Italo Mocchetti, a professor of neuroscience whose work was presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting this week. “It’s been thought that drug abuse itself contributes to mental decline, but our findings suggest that quitting cold turkey can also lead to damage.”

HIV Revels General Theory of Demetia

It was a puzzle. Individuals infected with HIV who also were known to abuse drugs such as cocaine and morphine were developing the telltale signs of dementia — even though they were in their 20s and 30s. They became profoundly depressed, and had trouble remembering, learning, even moving. Their brains acted as if they were half a century or more older.