Positron emission tomography in spastic diplegia

In this study, three patients with spastic diplegia were examined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), using the steady state technique with 15O. Two of them had untractable seizures and mental retardation. On MRI the cortical structures were normal; increased T2 signals in the periventricular white matter in the second patient were the main findings. PET scan showed in the two patients with a seizure disorder and mental retardation a large left cortical area of decreased regional blood flow and oxygen consumption during the interictal phase. The third patient without epileptic spells had a normal PET scan examination. It is concluded that the epileptic disorder in two of our cases is due to an additional cortical lesion, while the spastic diplegia is caused by subcortical white matter destruction.