The Role of Medical Imaging in Defining CNS Abnormalities Associated with HIV-Infection and Opportunistic Infections

In this review of the current literature, we examine the role of medical imaging in providing new and relevant information on central nervous system (CNS) injury associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and various clinical manifestations of this injury. Common imaging modalities used to examine CNS injury in HIV infection include structural magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, diffusion tensor imaging, functional MRI, and positron emissions tomography. Clinical implications for the findings are discussed for each of these modalities individually and collectively. In addition, the direction for future studies is suggested in an attempt to provide possible methods that might answer the many questions that remain to be answered on the evolution and progression of CNS injury in the context of HIV infection.