For ‘Silver Tsunami’ With H.I.V., New Hope for Healthy Aging
nytimes.comAmericans with H.I.V. are achieving the once unthinkable: a steady march into older age. But beginning around age 50, many people living with the virus face a host of health problems, from heart disease and diabetes to social isolation and cognitive decline.
And so the medical research community, which some three decades ago developed lifesaving drugs to keep the virus at bay, is now hunting for new ways to keep people with H.I.V.
healthier in their later years. A recent study, for example, showed that a statin drug significantly lowered the risk of heart attacks and strokes among middle-aged and older adults with H.I.V., and may reveal biological insights into why this group tends to age faster than others.
And a crop of academic hospitals have established specialized clinics for older people with the virus, offering medical experts as well as social workers, substance abuse counselors, psychologists and nutritionists. “I have been unbelievably impressed at how care for the older H.I.V.
