Abstract
Epilepsy is one of the most common yet diverse neurologic disorders, affecting almost 1%–2% of the population. Presently, radionuclide imaging such as PET and SPECT is not used in the primary diagnosis or evaluation of recent-onset epilepsy. However, it can play a unique and important role in certain specific situations, such as in noninvasive presurgical localization of epileptogenic brain regions in intractable-seizure patients being considered for epilepsy surgery. Radionuclide imaging can be particularly useful if MR imaging is either negative for lesions or shows several lesions of which only 1 or 2 are suspected to be epileptogenic and if electroencephalogram changes are equivocal or discordant with the structural imaging. Similarly, PET and SPECT can also be useful for evaluating the functional integrity of the rest of the brain and may provide useful information on the possible pathogenesis of the neurocognitive and behavioral abnormalities frequently observed in these patients.
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Learning Objectives: On successful completion of this activity, participants should be able to describe (1) various radiotracers and radionuclide imaging techniques used in epilepsy evaluation, (2) the role of radionuclide imaging, using PET and SPECT, in the evaluation of patients with temporal and extratemporal lobe epilepsy, particularly in the presurgical localization of the epileptic focus, and (3) the contribution of radionuclide imaging in providing useful prognostic information in these patients.
Financial Disclosure: The authors of this article have indicated no relevant relationships that could be perceived as a real or apparent conflict of interest.
CME Credit: SNMMI is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to sponsor continuing education for physicians. SNMMI designates each JNM continuing education article for a maximum of 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. For CE credit, participants can access this activity through the SNMMI Web site (http://www.snmmi.org/ce_online) through October 2016.
- © 2013 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.