Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in childhood AIDS encephalopathy

Twenty-five children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) underwent cranial magnetic resonance imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on clinical parameters: encephalopathy and nonencephalopathy. N-acetyl aspartate/creatine ratios were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatric neurology 1995-05, Vol.12 (4), p.277-282
Main Authors: Pavlakis, Steven G., Lu, Dongfeng, Frank, Yitzchak, Bakshi, Saroj, Pahwa, Savita, Barnett, Tracey A., Porricolo, Maura E., Gould, Robert J., Nozyce, Molly L., Hyman, Roger A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
AIDS Dementia Complex - diagnosis
AIDS/HIV
Basal Ganglia - pathology
Biological and medical sciences
Case-Control Studies
Child
Child, Preschool
Humans
Immunodeficiencies
Immunodeficiencies. Immunoglobulinopathies
Immunopathology
Infant
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
Medical sciences
Protons
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Summary:Twenty-five children with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) underwent cranial magnetic resonance imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on clinical parameters: encephalopathy and nonencephalopathy. N-acetyl aspartate/creatine ratios were compared between the 2 groups and to control data. Spectra were obtained for 2 volumes of interest: the basal ganglia region and the white matter. The mean basal ganglia region ratio for the AIDS encephalopathy patients (n = 8) was 1.12 and the ratio for the AIDS nonencephalopathy patients (n = 17) was 1.48. The ratio for the 9 controls was 1.57. The encephalopathy group had a significantly lower ratio than both the control ( P < .001) and the AIDS nonencephalopathy group ( P < .002). The mean white matter ratio for the encephalopathy group (n = 8) was 1.47 and for the AIDS nonencephalopathy group (n = 13) was 1.82 with a control (n = 6) ratio of 1.82. The encephalopathy patients had a lower white matter ratio than the nonencephalopathy ( P < .05) patients but the ratio was not different than controls ( P < .11). It is concluded that N-acetyl aspartate/creatine ratios are reduced in childhood AIDS encephalopathy and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy may be helpful in defining brain human immunodeficiency virus-1 infection. However, further longitudinal studies are necessary to determine the sensitivity and specificity of this technique.
ISSN:0887-8994
1873-5150
DOI:10.1016/0887-8994(95)00048-K