title: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in childhood AIDS encephalopathy.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York, USA.
authors.forename: S G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Pavlakis
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bakshi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pahwa
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Porricolo
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Nozyce
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hyman
mesh_terms: D015526:AIDS Dementia Complex / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000293:Adolescent; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D011522:Protons
chemical_list: D011522:Protons