Brain Health and HIV: What Aging Service Providers Need to Know
1–2 PM Eastern | 10–11 AM Pacific
Event will provide a Certificate of Attendance.
As the community of older people living with HIV continues to grow, increasing attention is being paid to brain health, cognitive changes, and dementia risk. This session will provide an overview of key concepts and terminology related to HIV and brain health, and explore what is currently known about cognitive issues among people living with HIV. Speakers will discuss emerging research on brain health, including what studies of people aging with HIV may teach us about Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, as well as practical strategies for supporting cognitive wellness across care settings. The session will also examine considerations from low- and middle-income countries and how lessons learned may apply to lower-resource settings in the United States. Speakers will discuss care considerations, opportunities for screening and referral, and best practices for healthcare and aging services professionals working with older people with HIV.
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Describe key concepts, terminology, and evolving frameworks related to HIV and brain health, and summarize current evidence regarding cognitive health, brain aging, and dementia-related concerns among older people living with HIV.
- Identify factors that may contribute to cognitive changes in people with HIV and recognize opportunities for assessment, screening, referral, and support across diverse care settings.
- Discuss emerging research on HIV, brain aging, and dementia, including how studies of people aging with HIV may contribute to understanding Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
- Apply practical strategies to promote brain health and person-centered care for people living with HIV, including considerations for lower-resource settings in the United States and globally.
- Discuss how collaboration among healthcare providers, social service professionals, aging networks, and HIV organizations can improve outcomes for people with HIV facing cognitive challenges.
Presenters:
Shibani S. Mukerji, MD, PhD, is a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, where she directs the MGH Neuroinfectious Disease Lab. She cares for people with HIV who have concerns about memory, mood, neuropathy, and sleep, in the Department of Neurology and the Division of Infectious Diseases. Her research examines brain health in people aging with HIV, combining randomized trials, advanced neuroimaging, and large-scale analysis of health records. She leads two NIH-funded studies: SOOTHE (R01 MH131194), a randomized trial of neuroactive steroids for depression in people with HIV, and a study characterizing HIV-1 reservoirs in the central nervous system (R01 MH134823), which uses single-cell technology to determine how HIV persists in brain tissue despite effective antiretroviral therapy. She is Protocol Vice-Chair of ACTG A5402, co-chairs the NIMH-funded committee developing clinical guidance on cognitive concerns in HIV for Ryan White Program providers, and is Vice-Chair of the Clinical Research Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology.
Sam Nightingale is a Consultant Neurologist and Associate Professor at the University of Cape Town. His research focuses on dementia and the neurology of HIV. He is PI of the CONNECT and Ingqondo studies, exploring cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease mechanisms in people living with HIV. He is a fellow of the Race Against Dementia, and chair of the International HIV-Cognition Working Group, which has reframed criteria for cognitive impairment in people living with HIV.
Terri L. Wilder, MSW, is the Manager of Health and Economic Security Policy at SAGE, where she advances the organization’s federal and state policy priorities, including those focused on HIV and aging. She has worked in HIV care and services since 1989, providing social services, leading education programs for people with lived experience and medical providers, and advocating for meaningful policy change. A seasoned public speaker, Terri has presented at conferences around the world on a wide range of HIV-related topics. She is also an award-winning writer whose work has appeared on platforms such as The Body, among others, where she has covered diverse issues related to HIV and Long COVID. Terri has served on the New York Governor’s Task Force to End AIDS (EtE) and the New York Governor’s Hepatitis C Elimination Taskforce, contributing to the development of statewide plans to end the HIV epidemic and eliminate Hepatitis C. She currently serves on the New York State Department of Health AIDS Advisory Council EtE Subcommittee and recently completed a two-year term on the Minnesota Council for HIV/AIDS Care and Prevention (MCHACP).
Certificate of Attendance
Please note that continuing education (CE) credit is not offered for this webinar. Participants who attend the live webinar will receive a Certificate of Attendance from the American Society on Aging documenting their participation. Certificates of Attendance are issued only for participation in the live webinar. Participants who watch the on-demand recording are not eligible to receive a Certificate of Attendance. The certificate may be submitted to a participant’s professional accreditation organization, state licensing board, employer, or other credentialing body for consideration toward continuing education or professional development requirements. Requirements and acceptance vary by profession, jurisdiction, and credentialing organization. ASA and Gilead Sciences do not guarantee that a Certificate of Attendance will be accepted for continuing education credit. Participants are responsible for confirming eligibility and requirements with their applicable accrediting or licensing body.