Focal epilepsies: HM-PAO SPECT compared with CT, MR, and EEG

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was evaluated quantitatively by 99mTc hexamethyl propyleneamine oxime and single photon emission CT (SPECT) during the interictal phase in 52 patients with focal epilepsy. The results were compared with those obtained by electroencephalography (EEG), CT, and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Twenty-four of the 52 patients had one area of local hypoperfusion whereas 7 patients showed an area of local hyperperfusion. In 20 of the 52 patients, both reduced and elevated rCBF values were found. One patient had a normal perfusion pattern. The SPECT findings correlated well with the foci shown by EEG, both with regard to the sides affected and the locations of the regions of altered perfusion. The MR images showed focal lesions in only approximately one-half of the patients examined, and CT in even fewer.