[The value of serum endothelin for differential diagnosis of the decreased cerebral blood flow perfusion foci of epilepsy patients].
OBJECTIVE
To observe the level of serum endothelin (ET) of interictal epilepsy patients with regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) decreased foci in SPECT brain perfusion imaging and to investigate its value for diagnosis and differential diagnosis of epilepsy.


METHODS
Seventy-six interictal epilepsy patients were enrolled and SPECT brain perfusion imaging, EEG, X-CT or MRI were performed, with 25 healthy volunteers as controls whose serum ET levels were measured by radioimmunoassay.


RESULTS
The serum ET levels of 49 idiopathic epilepsy patients were significantly higher (P < 0.01) than that of healthy controls. The ET levels of 21 symptomatic epilepsy patients were not significantly different from that of the healthy controls (P > 0.05). The ET levels of 6 non-epilepsy patients were significantly higher than that of the healthy controls (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The level of serum ET is of value to the differential diagnosis for interictal epilepsy cases, and can contribute to the qualitative diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy.
Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital Affiliated to North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong 637000, China.
Jian-ping
JP
Xie
Xiao-ming
XM
Wang
Xiao-hua
XH
Wu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004569:Electroencephalography; D016232:Endothelins / Q000097:blood*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
C471673:(99m)Tc ethylenedicysteine-deoxyglucose; D016232:Endothelins; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds