Victor Valcour

HIV Seropositivity, Aging, and Neuro-Cognitive Function

HIV research has commonly focused on young individuals, yet over 10% of seropositive individuals are 50 years of age or greater. At the University of Hawaii, we aim to be on the forefront in addressing issues of aging and chronic infection in the HIV seropositive community.

To this end, our research project will establish a cohort of older HIV seropositive individuals and a comparison group of younger HIV seropositive individuals. We will obtain neuro-cognitive testing data to clarify rates and patterns of presentation of cognitive decline in older compared to younger individuals.

We anticipate the need to investigate the consequences of long-term treatment with antiretroviral as well as the medical and social aspects of aging with HIV infection. This is a consequence of successful treatment that prolongs survival for individuals seropositive for HIV. To this end, the research effort will potentially extend beyond the neuro-cognitive characterization of older seropositive individuals in future studies.