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Editorial: Aging gracefully
| Last updated: 27.10.04 |
It would have been unthinkable a decade ago, but there is now a substantial aging population of people living with HIV in the UK; some of whom have been positive for more than twenty years while others have been only recently diagnosed.
In fact, data from the latest readers survey - the results of which are detailed in this issue - suggest that 40% of all ATU readers are aged 45 or older.
Although this is something to celebrate, it also has a down side. As we live longer with HIV, we seem to be more prone to all kinds of other illnesses, including heart disease and cancer.
Should we add dementia to the list? HAART appeared to all but wipe out AIDS-related dementia, but new research suggests that HIV is likely to subtly alter the way our brains work as we age. However, as Gus Cairns discovered when he interviewed NAM’s Specialist Adviser on the neurological aspects of HIV disease, Dr Pepe Catalan, it’s not all bad news.
For those of us who hope to live long and well with HIV, this article provides much insight into whether we ought to be concerned about dementia, and what we can do in order to prevent this from happening to us.