HIV and Premature Aging: A Debate

One of the hot topics in HIV research and advocacy efforts is whether or not HIV disease causes premature aging. Some research suggests there is merit to this position, while other researchers question the validity of this position. A recent article in POZ magazine discusses this important debate. There seems to be no shortage of stories or anecdotal evidence that this may be occurring, but more scientific evidence is needed. If you are interested in the topic of HIV and premature aging you can find the recent article in POZ at http://www.poz.com/articles/hiv_charpa_aging_401_19208.shtml. Additionally two prominent HIV researchers (Martin & Volberding) just published an editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Copyright laws prevent me from posting the full article, but the editorial entitled HIV and Premature Aging: A field still in its infancy can be found in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 153, No. 7 pp. 477-478.

Aging with HIV: A Gay Man's Guide

The book Aging with HIV: A Gay Man's Guide will be published in December by Oxford University Press. The author, Dr. James Masten, has created a blog that will update you on the book as well as other issues related to this topic. While there is the possibility of some overlap between our blogs, it is better to get information twice than not at all. James and I are in the process of creating cross-links to help keep people better informed. The link to his new blog is http://agingwithhiv.wordpress.com/
Visit his site and check out the contents of his new book.

Aging and HIV Forum in San Francisco

The San Francisco AIDS Foundation will hold a forum/discussion on the topic of aging and HIV/AIDS. The forum will be held on Wednesday, October 13 at 600 The Emarcadero, San Francisco. An announcement for the event can be found at http://www.sfaf.org/hivision/index.html

GMHC Launches 50+ Program

GMHC of New York has initiated a new program in response to the growing number of adults 50 and over impacted by HIV disease. According to their web site the new program called 50+ Life long "strengthens the capacity of existing GMHC services to effectively provide quality HIV prevention and care services to this population". The specifics of the program can be found at:http://www.gmhc.org/protect/hivaids-and-older-adults

New Article Explores Sexual Behavior and STD Prevalence

A recently published article by Onen and colleagues examined sexual behavior and prevalence of STDs in both younger and older adults living with HIV/AIDS. The results of the study appears in a recent issue of AIDS Care. The citation for the study is:

Onen, NF, Shacham, E. & Stamm, K. et al (2010). Comparison of sexual behaviors and STD prevalence among older and younger individuals with HIV infection. AIDS Care, 22(6), 711-717.

September Conferene on Aging and HIV

The New England Association on HIV Over Fifty (NEAHOF) and the New England AIDS Education and Training Center will sponsor a day-long conference on aging and HIV/AIDS entitled "Lots of things come with age: HIV doesn't have to be one of them". The conference will be held on September 17, 2010 at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. A copy of the conference brochure can be found at http://www.hivoverfifty.org/NEAHOF%20Brochure%202010.pdf

New Article on Aging and HIV

A new study on Aging and HIV was recently published in the March-April issue of HIV Clinical Trials. The study conducted by Onen and colleagues examined chronic diseases in populations of older adults with both seropositive and seronegative status. Older, HIV+ adutls had higher rates of some diseases. The abstract of the article can be found at:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20542846?dopt=Abstract