Brain perfusion with intracarotid injection of 99mTc-HM-PAO in partial epilepsy during amobarbital testing

Technetium (99mTc) hexamethyl propylene amine oxime (HM-PAO) was injected into the internal carotid artery in ten epileptic patients after the end of amobarbital speech-memory tests. The cerebral perfusion as visualized from SPET was compared to cerebral angiographies, which showed unilateral filling of intracranial vessels in seven patients. SPET revealed cross-flow between the hemispheres in four of these seven patients. In three patients in whom the angiograms had shown bilateral contrast filling, SPET showed cross-flow in only two. It is concluded that 99mTc-HM-PAO SPET examinations provide valuable information for correct interpretation of amobarbital tests on cognitive hemisphere functions. The SPET technique may help to explain atypical speech and memory responses caused by unusual intracranial vascularization.