With better treatments, many HIV/AIDS patients are now able to live longer lives. While data on older patients with HIV are not available, at least 1,059 AIDS patients age 60 or above live in San Francisco, according to March figures from the city Department of Public Health. With that demographic in mind, researchers in January began a three-year study on cognitive health in volunteers over age 60 who have HIV/AIDS.
"We'd like to know if they're likely to have more problems with memory and thinking, and if they are why," said Dr. Victor Valcour, an instructor with University of California-San Francisco's Memory and Aging Center.
Currently, one theory is that HIV and possibly the drugs used for treatment could cause more insulin resistance and other metabolic problems, Valcour said. That may lead to small changes in brain function, putting patients at risk for mild cognitive issues, such as difficulty concentrating, as well as severe problems, including dementia. Though dementia is not as prevalent in HIV/AIDS patients as it used to be, he said, it is not clear whether drug treatments, the virus itself, both, or pre-existing injuries cause it.
Currently just five to 10 volunteers are enrolled in the study; it needs about 40 more participants, Valcour said. In the first year, the study volunteers undergo cognitive and neurological exams, a glucose tolerance test and an MRI. In later years, the participants will undergo the exams again, except for the MRI. Volunteers are compensated, and should be on stable antiretroviral therapy, and neither use illegal drugs nor have hepatitis C.
For more information, telephone 415-476-1451 or e-mail InsulinStudy@memory.ucsf.edu.
05/08/08
University of California-San Francisco Researchers Studying Cognition in Older HIVers
Source: Bay Area Reporter:: Seth Hemmelgarn; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention