title: Hemodynamic response (BOLD/fMRI) in focal epilepsy with reference to benzodiazepine effect.
abstract: We studied a new procedure of BOLD/fMRI acquisition in epilepsy. They use the benzodiazepine effect to achieve a more reliable baseline for statistical analysis. The method works only in the MR domain without EEG correlation. It compares the EPI images during interictal epileptic discharges and the images "inactivated" by benzodiazepine. The results in five out of eight patients show that this procedure in comparison with the EEG/fMRI method gives a net improvement of spatial definition of BOLD areas. These preliminary results seem to confirm the hypothesis that the better BOLD/fMRI procedure in epilepsy is to make use of physical features of MR that, unlike EEG, is not influenced by the distance of intercerebral sources and consequently allows a more complete and undistorted display of BOLD areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Rome "La Sapienza," 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni Battista
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: De Carli
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Colonnese
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Gennaro
authors.forename: Pier Paolo
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Quarato
authors.forename: Gianpaolo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cantore
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: Girolamo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Garreffa
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Maraviglia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003975:Diazepam / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000601:surgery; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D008140:Lorazepam / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D008140:Lorazepam; D003975:Diazepam; D010100:Oxygen