title: Positron emission tomography findings in children with infantile spasms and autism.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate positron emission tomography (PET) findings in patients diagnosed with infantile spasms and autism. This study includes 90 patients who were diagnosed with infantile spasms at the Department of Pediatric Neurology in the Istanbul University Medical Faculty between 1995 and 2007. Of the 90 patients, 15 patients who were diagnosed with autism using the Autism Behaviour Checklist and Childhood Autism Rating Scale and a control group of nine patients without autism but with infantile spasms underwent PET examination. Mean patient age (± standard error, SE) varied between 3 years and 16 years (7.8 ± 4 years), while the mean follow-up time (±SE) varied between 2 years and 16 years (average: 7.1 ± 4 years). Autism was present in 11 patients with symptomatic spasms and in four patients with cryptogenic spasms (p=0.009). On the PET scans of the 15 patients with autism, 13 (86.7%) had significantly decreased metabolic activity in the temporal lobe (p<0.001), nine (60%) had significantly decreased activity in the frontal lobe (p=0.004), and seven (46.7%) had significantly decreased activity in the parietal lobe (p=0.022). In our opinion, hypometabolism in the frontal and parietal lobes, in addition to that previously reported in the temporal lobe, plays a role in the development of autism in patients with infantile spasms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Neurology, Istanbul University, Arpaemini/Fatih, İstanbul 34093, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cengiz
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dilber
authors.forename: Mine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calışkan
authors.forename: Kerim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sönmezoğlu
authors.forename: Serap
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nişli
authors.forename: Nahit Motavalli
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Mukaddes
authors.forename: Burak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tatlı
authors.forename: Nur
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aydınlı
authors.forename: Barış
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ekici
authors.forename: Meral
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Özmen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D013036:Spasms, Infantile / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*