[Regional cerebral blood flow in partial complex epilepsy with and without the presence of lesions]

Regional cerebral blood flow (r CBF) was measured by the I.V. 133 Xenon method and use of 27 detectors in 91 patients with complex partial epilepsy in interictal periods (at least 48 h over a complex partial seizure). Some were also examined less than 48 h before or after seizures. All were studied with ictal and interictal electroencephalography (EEG), polysomnography, computed tomography (CT), some had nuclear magnetic resonance scans (MR). The blood flow values were compared with a group of a 20 normal subjects matching for age. A significant decrease of r CBF ranged from 15% to 25% was found in the temporal region in three groups of epileptic patients: with repeated normal CT scans and lateralized EEG abnormalities (N = 46); with cortical atrophy in CT scan (N = 12); with neurosurgical focal lesions on CT and or MR scans glioma, arteriovenous malformation) (N = 10). r CBF was normal or decreased by less than 15% in the other regions of the brain. Patients with repeated normal CT scans and bilateral EEG abnormalities either asynchronous or alternatively observed in the right side or left side on waking EEG or during NREM sleep and REM sleep, did not show reduction in r CBF. In a previous study, r CBF distribution was also found normal during interictal phase in patients with primary generalized epilepsy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)