Comparative studies of '1 8 F-FDG PET/CT brain imaging and EEG in preoperative localization of temporal lobe epileptic focus

Abstract

Objective To compare the value of 18F-FDG PET/CT brain imaging and EEG in preoperative localization of the epileptic focus at the temporal lobe.Methods A total of 152 patients (108 males,44 females,age ranged from 3 to 59 years old) with past history of temporal lobe epilepsy were included.All patients underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT brain imaging and long-range or video EEG,and 29 patients underwent intracranial electrode EEG due to the failure to localize the disease focus by non-invasive methods.Histopathologic findings after operative treatment were considered the gold standard for disease localization.All patients were followed up for at least six months after the operation.The accuracy of the 18FFDG PET/CT brain imaging and long-range or video EEG examination were compared usingx test.Results The accuracy of locating the epileptic focus was 80.92％ (123/152) for 18F-FDG PET/CT brain imaging and 43.42％ (66/152) for long-range or video EEG (x2=22.72,P＜0.01).The accuracy of locating the epileptic focus for the 29 cases with intracranial electrode EEG was 100％.Conclusions Interictal 18FFDG PET/CT brain imaging is a sensitive and effective method to locate the temporal lobe epileptic focus and is better than long-range or video EEG.The combination of 18F-FDG PET/CT brain imaging and intracranial electrode EEG examination can further improve the accuracy of locating the epileptic focus. Key words: Epilepsy,temporal lobe; Electroencephalography; Tomography,emission-computed; Tomography,X-ray computed; Deoxyglucose