Benzodiazepine receptors and cerebral blood flow in partial epilepsy

It was the aim of this study to compare benzodiazepine (Bz) receptor binding and cerebral perfusion in patients with partial epilepsy. Single photon emission tomography (SPET) studies with the flow-marker technetium 99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxine (99mTc-HMPAO) and with the 123I-labelled Bz-receptor ligand Ro 16-0154 (123I-Iomazenil) were performed in 12 patients with partial epilepsy, all with normal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans. The SPET studies with 123I-Iomazenil were carried out 5 min and 2 h after injection. At 2 h the distribution of activity was very similar to the expected distribution of Bz-receptors in the human brain, known from positron emission tomography (PET) work and post-mortem studies. Early images showed a significantly higher tracer accumulation in the area of the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and naso-pharyngeal space. This finding is caused by non-specific binding and the contribution of the tracer in the blood pool in this phase. Also after 2 h p.i. of 123I-Iomazenil, 9 of the 12 patients showed a focal decrease of of Bz-receptor binding. Ten patients had focal flow abnormalities with 99mTc-HMPAO SPET. In 8 subjects impairment of flow was seen in sites of reduced 123I-Iomazenil uptake. 123I-Iomazenil is suitable for Bz-receptor mapping. In this series of patients, Bz-receptor mapping with SPET seems to offer no advantage over 99mTc-HMPAO in the detection of epileptic foci.