Many AIDS patients being treated experience symptoms—including memory loss, bone weakness and nerve damage—more commonly seen in the elderly population. Some doctors and experts link these outcomes to side effects from ARVs and drug treatment, with many researchers connecting bone loss to medications and the brain problems to HIV itself. The issue of dementia and other sicknesses appearing in individuals living long-term with HIV is growing, and some authorities believe it must be addressed immediately.

Note: While this article primarily focuses on HIV and AIDS in the United States, the long-term effects issue it tackles could be considered that much more significant when working with HIV and AIDS in Africa. If people in the U.S., who have some of the best access to care and treatment in the world, are experiencing these side effects and symptoms due to the virus and ARVs, then how can we ensure PLWHA/PLHIV in Africa stay healthy when rates of sickness (diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections, malaria) are that much higher and aging occurs that much quicker for the general population?

-Whitney Isenhower