Half-Life of Cotton-Wool Spots in the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Abstract

Cotton-wool spots are a hallmark of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) retinopathy in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). We analysed the half-life of cotton-wool spots in AIDS in a prospective study, and found the average time to disappearance to be 6.9 weeks. HIV retinopathy differs from diabetic retinopathy in having a smaller size cotton-wool spot and a much shorter half-life, suggesting a patchy involvement of the retinal capillaries in AIDS and a widespread capillary disease in preproliferative and proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

Ischemic maculopathy in zidovudine-induced anemia in an HIV-positive man

“…Features of acute retinal ischemia include venous dilatation and beading, the presence of numerous retinal hemorrhages and cotton wool spots (CWS). CWS in microangiopathic HIV retinopathy tend to be small – our patient’s CWS were large, possibly reflecting a greater degree of retinal ischemia (Mansour et al 1990). …”

Ocular pathology in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

“…The half-life of cotton-wool spots was reported to be 6.9 weeks in HIV-seropositive subjects. 38 Optic nerve pathology (besides cryptococcal infection) was present in 2 patients. Although microglial nodules are frequently identified in the white matter of patients with HIV encephalitis, 39,40 such accumulations of reactive cells in the optic nerve have not been previously reported, to our knowledge.…”

Multimodal Imaging of Cotton Wool Spots in Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion

“…These studies showed they were visible anywhere from 4 weeks to 17.2 months depending on underlying disease, patient's age and medication [12,13,18] . Besides these factors, our analysis revealed that the area of CWS as well as the surrounding pathology such as intraretinal cysts, intraretinal hemorrhage and avascular zones seem to be factors associated with the duration of visibility.…”