The value of interictal brain SPECT in epilepsy patients without mesial-temporal sclerosis.
OBJECTIVE
Most of the literature concerning interictal SPECT brain scanning in patients with seizures has involved the evaluation of those with temporal lobe epilepsy. The authors' aim was to determine the utility of interictal SPECT in patients with neocortical epilepsy.


METHODS
Eighty-four patients with neocortical epilepsy were evaluated with 95 interictal SPECT scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).


RESULTS
Fifty-four percent of studies with normal MRI findings had SPECT images without regions of hypoperfusion. Sixty-one percent of patients with abnormal MRI results had matching defects visible on SPECT images. Fourteen scans (only 24%) had focal hypoperfusion by SPECT and no obvious matching MRI finding.


CONCLUSIONS
Interictal SPECT, without a comparison ictal study, is of potentially limited value in localizing neocortical seizure foci. SPECT findings usually match MRI findings. Interictal SPECT, however, may still be of value in confirming abnormalities detected by ictal examination.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003545:Cysteine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019579:Neocortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; C059659:technetium Tc 99m bicisate; D003545:Cysteine