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The MRI findings in a 6-year-old boy with an astrocytoma of the mesancephalon are reported. A ventriculocisternostomy had been performed in order to reduce the hydrocephalus. At the site of the ventriculocisternostomy, the T2-weighted images showed a low signal in the anterior part of the third ventricle, the interpeduncular and the pontine cistern. This was attributed to CSF flow void. We conclude that MRI can provide information about the precise location and normal functioning of a ventriculocisternostomy.

Neurenteric cysts are rare congenital lesions that may cause spinal cord compression. Two cases are reported emphasizing the value of magnetic resonance imaging without and with contrast medium (Gd-DTPA) administration.

Ten new cases of distal amyotrophy localized in an upper limb are reported. In all cases, patients were young males. The onset of the neurological impairment was always progressive during one to three years. The disease remained stable with a follow-up study of at least three years. Electrophysiological and neuroradiologic results were in keeping with an involvement of the anterior horn cell, in agreement with similar studies found in the literature. The relatively benign evolution of this syndrome, in regard to the usual prognosis of the other forms of motor neuron disease, especially amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, has to be outlined.

Disorders of the nervous system frequently complicate Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). They may be related to the development of opportunistic agents (toxoplasmosis, cryptococcossis, cytomegalovirus, JC Virus), or primary CNS lymphoma. There is also a constellation of neurologic disorders which may result from direct Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) replication in the CNS and HIV has been found in brain and CSF of numerous patients suffering from AIDS. The precise cellular localization of HIV is not known, but the macrophage seems to be a strong candidate for HIV replication in CNS.

Thirty-four patients with angiographically proved arteriovenous malformations of the spinal cord were studied between May 1986 and July 1987. Examinations were performed on a CGR 5000 Magniscan 0.5-T scanner with a surface coil in all cases, and multislices in both T1- and T2-weighted sequences were obtained in sagittal and axial planes. The results showed that MR can accurately diagnose all cases of intramedullary arteriovenous malformations, since transverse images were able to precisely locate the nidus within the spinal cord. Other types of spinal cord arteriovenous malformations were also studied (perimedullary fistulae and dural arteriovenous fistula), and the findings confirmed the value of MR in the characterization of these lesions as well.