title: Ageing and inflammation in patients with HIV infection.
abstract: Nowadays, HIV+patients have an expected lifespan that is only slightly shorter than healthy individuals. For this reason, along with the fact that infection can be acquired at a relatively advanced age, the effects of ageing on HIV+people have begun to be evident. Successful anti-viral treatment is, on one hand, responsible for the development of side effects related to drug toxicity; on the other hand, it is not able to inhibit the onset of several complications caused by persistent immune activation and chronic inflammation. Therefore, patients with a relatively advanced age, i.e. aged more than 50 years, can experience pathologies that affect much older citizens. HIV+individuals with non-AIDS-related complications can thus come to the attention of clinicians because of the presence of neurocognitive disorders, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, bone abnormalities and non-HIV-associated cancers. Chronic inflammation and immune activation, observed typically in elderly people and defined as 'inflammaging', can be present in HIV+patients who experience a type of premature ageing, which affects the quality of life significantly. This relatively new condition is extremely complex, and important factors have been identified as well as the traditional behavioural risk factors, e.g. the toxicity of anti-retroviral treatments and the above-mentioned chronic inflammation leading to a functional decline and a vulnerability to injury or pathologies. Here, we discuss the role of inflammation and immune activation on the most important non-AIDS-related complications of chronic HIV infection, and the contribution of aging per se to this scenario.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nasi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Biasi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gibellini
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bianchini
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pecorini
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bacca
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Adults and Children, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.|Infectious Diseases Clinics, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Policlinico di Modena, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guaraldi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences, Modena, Italy.|Infectious Diseases Clinics, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Policlinico di Modena, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mussini
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pinti
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medicine, Dentistry and Morphological Sciences, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cossarizza
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology*; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D044966:Anti-Retroviral Agents
keywords: AIDS; aging; host-pathogen interactions; inflammation