Whole brain and localized magnetization transfer measurements are associated with cognitive impairment in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.
OBJECTIVE
Patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are susceptible to cognitive deterioration. This study investigated the utility of magnetization transfer (MT) imaging for quantification of brain tissue alterations associated with cognitive deficits in patients with HIV.


METHODS
MT ratios (MTR) were derived for whole brain and for regions of interest (ROIs) in the basal ganglia and white matter in 11 HIV and 12 control subjects. Relationships with severity of cognitive impairment and specific neuropsychological deficits were also evaluated.


RESULTS
MTR values for normalized whole brain histogram peak height, whole brain histogram mean, and all examined ROIs were reduced in the HIV subjects. Normalized histogram peak height and mean for whole brain, as well as means for the corpus callosum, basal ganglia, and frontal white matter (FWM), were significantly correlated with severity of cognitive impairment. MTR values for white matter regions (corpus callosum, FWM, and centrum semiovale) were correlated with specific cognitive deficits.


CONCLUSIONS
Quantitative MTR measurements, determined for the whole brain and for vulnerable ROIs, are sensitive to neuropathologic changes associated with cognitive impairment in HIV-infected patients.
Wu
Y
Y
Department of Radiology, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, Evanston, Ill, USA. wu7@northwestern.edu
Storey
P
P
Carrillo
A
A
Saglamer
C
C
Cohen
B A
BA
Epstein
L G
LG
Edelman
R R
RR
Ragin
A B
AB
D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D018792:Encephalitis, Viral / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013223:Statistics as Topic