A challenge for the future: aging and HIV infection.
Older individuals (≥50 years of age) are increasingly becoming a new at-risk group for HIV-1 infection and, together with those surviving longer due to the introduction of anti-retroviral therapy (ART), it is predicted that more than half of all HIV-1-infected individuals in the United States will be greater than 50 years of age in the year 2015. Older individuals diagnosed with HIV-1 are prone to faster disease progression and reduced T-cell reconstitution despite successful virologic control with anti-retroviral therapy (ART). There is also growing evidence that the T-cell compartment in HIV-1(+) adults displays an aged phenotype, and HIV-1-infected individuals are increasingly diagnosed with clinical conditions more commonly seen in older uninfected persons. As aging in the absence of HIV infection is associated with alterations in T-cell function and immunosenescence, the combined impact of both HIV-1 infection and aging may provide an explanation for poorer clinical outcomes observed in older HIV-1-infected individuals. Thus, the development of novel therapeutics to stimulate immune function and delay immunosenescence is critical and would be beneficial to both the elderly and HIV-1-infected individuals.
Rickabaugh
Tammy M
TM
UCLA AIDS Institute and Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California-Los Angeles, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90095-1745, USA.
Jamieson
Beth D
BD
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000639:trends; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007109:Immunity / Q000187:drug effects; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States