In many ways, the effects of HIV and old age

Diagnosis and Treatment

In many ways, the effects of HIV and old age converge and aggravate each other, rather than conflict. Momentum's Krales offers loss of muscle mass as an example: People with AIDS often experience loss of weight and muscle mass. If they are able to put the weight back on, it is frequently in the form of fat, rather than muscle. Loss of muscle mass is also a natural consequence of aging. The situation can be further exacerbated by the decreased physical activity that typically accompanies aging. Thus, there are three factors conspiring to complicate the situation.

Older PWAs are also more likely than their younger counterparts to suffer from other chronic ailments, from high blood pressure to diabetes to atherosclerosis. The doctor treating the older person with AIDS must deal not only with the virus and other chronic problems, but with the potential side effects and drug interactions of the medications used to treat both the age- and HIV-related conditions. Myron Gold is a 56-year-old PWA who suffers from arthritis. His doctor admits that her treatment of his condition is made more difficult by the inability to determine how much of it is attributable to HIV, how much to age, and how much to AIDS medication.

HIV and geriatrics are separate medical specialties, and it is rare indeed to find a doctor who is knowledgeable in both. Some information is out there, however, and the best that most older PWAs can hope for is to find a doctor who is willing to become informed. Gold, who is very much an activist on behalf of PWAs in general -- and older PWAs in particular -- attends the conferences and reads the literature, calling his doctor's attention to material of interest.