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.