The development of cerebral aneurysmal arteriopathy in childhood AIDS tends to occur after a prolonged delay and is usually followed by death in a short period of time. The etiology for the vasculitis is unknown. Varicella zoster virus may be the etiology in some of the cases because of its potential to cause this pathology and the striking unilateral arterial involvement found in Case 5. HIV vasculitis is also a possibility, as suggested by the detection of HIV protein or genomic material in two of the four autopsy cases.

The authors measured coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) concentration in muscle biopsies from 135 patients with genetically undefined cerebellar ataxia. Thirteen patients with childhood-onset ataxia and cerebellar atrophy had markedly decreased levels of CoQ10. Associated symptoms included seizures, developmental delay, mental retardation, and pyramidal signs. These findings confirm the existence of an ataxic presentation of CoQ10 deficiency, which may be responsive to CoQ10 supplementation.