Normal aging and AIDS

Normal aging is accompanied by a wide range of changes in brain structure and function. In this work we seek to examine the hypothesis that normal aging results in neuropsychological findings similar to those produced by neuropsychological impairment related to AIDS. Specifically, we attempt to compare the level of neuropsychological performance in three groups: a normal elderly group (n = 46), a young group of AIDS patients (n = 36), and a young group of normal subjects (n = 22). The results indicated that, despite age differences between the normal elderly and AIDS patients, there was great similarity in the neuropsychological test performance of these two groups. In contrast, both groups demonstrated significantly different neuropsychological test performance than that evidenced by the younger normal controls. These results support the notion that neuropsychological changes related to normal aging are of a nature similar to those observed in AIDS and, therefore, affect functions subserved by frontal-subcortical brain regions.