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A public forum sponsored by the Hawaii Center for AIDS will include a review of research conducted over the years showing a higher risk of diseases among HIV patients.
The forum — to recognize World AIDS Day tomorrow and the 30th anniversary of the AIDS epidemic — is today at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaako. It will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Room 315 of the Medication Education Building at 651 Ilalo St.
Dr. Cecilia Shikuma, the center’s director, said HIV patients have a higher risk of dementia, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, kidney and liver disease, and cancers. Inflammation caused by the virus in patients’ bodies is believed to cause the susceptibility to the other diseases.
Doctors from the center are conducting a clinical trial to address the link of cardiovascular disease and people with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that can lead to AIDS. The group initiated the study four years ago. About 150 patients are involved in the clinical trial: Doctors are monitoring the calcium levels in the patients’ coronary arteries, thickness of blood vessels in the neck and the pliability of arteries in the arm vessel. Shikuma said the center hopes to have results in two to three years.
A previous study on HIV and dementia found that nearly half of the subjects suffered from a mild form of the condition. About 250 HIV patients took part in the study.
In another study the Hawaii Center for AIDS demonstrated a link between swelling problems in patients due to mitochondrial damage within fat tissue caused by drugs such as AZT, which were prescribed to HIV patients a decade ago. AZT is no longer heavily used because of its disfiguring side effects, namely swelling of the abdomen and at the base of the neck, known as a "buffalo hump."
Drugs with less severe effects are now prescribed to patients in the United States and Europe, but AZT is still prescribed in developing countries in Southeast Asia and Africa because of its low cost.
Shikuma said the ultimate goal is to cure HIV. Until then research efforts will continue in hopes of minimizing complications associated with the chronic disease.
