NEURORADIOLOGICAL FINDINGS IN PERINATALLY HIV-INFECTED CHILDREN

The neuroradiological studies (CT, MRI, angiography) in 21 children wi th perinatal HIV infection were reviewed retrospectively No patient sh owed an intracranial mass lesion; after intravenous contrast medium ap plication there was no case with disturbed blood-brain barrier. Common non-specific findings were atrophy and delayed myelination. In 7 case s atrophy was combined with multifocal nearly symmetric white matter l esions, which characteristically spared the U-fibres. Further findings included an intramedullary ring-shaped structure in the cervical cord , an AIDS-associated vasculopathy and symmetric calcifications in the basal ganglia. The spectrum of neuroradiological findings in paediatri c AIDS patients differs from that in adults. Knowledge of these age-sp ecific findings is important because the number of HIV-infected childr en is rising.