AIDS MRI

Associate Editors-in-Chief: Ujjwal Rastogi, MBBS [mailto:urastogi@perfuse.org]

Overview
Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI is used in great deal for the care of HIV-positive patients. MRI is the first-choice among neuroimaging modality in the workup for AIDS dementia complex. An MRI is more sensitive than a head CT in determining if a lesion is truly solitary.

Advantages of MRI over CT in AIDS diagnosis

 * Much more sensitive than CT scan in determining if a lesion is truly solitary.
 * Greater sensitivity for white matter disease.
 * Greater sensitivity for lesions in the posterior fossa.
 * Helps in identifying a peripheral lesion which is more accessible for histological sampling, in case a biopsy is being considered.