Noninvasive evaluation of the correlation between regional cerebral blood flow and intraventricular brain temperature in temporal lobe epilepsy

Abstract

IntroductionIn temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), an uncoupling of cerebral blood flow (CBF) and metabolism is indicated. The aim of this study was to clarify this relationship by investigating intraventricular brain temperature (BT) and CBF in TLE using a noninvasive MRI technique. Material and methodsWe recruited 38 subjects with left TLE and 39 subjects with right TLE. All patients underwent an MRI examination including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL). Intraventricular BT was calculated by a DWI thermometric technique, and regional CBF was obtained from pCASL images, and we analyzed the relationship between them using the statistical parametric mapping 8 software (SPM8). ResultsIn only the left TLE group, there was a significant negative correlation between CBF and BT in the left inferior frontal gyrus. Positive correlations in the bilateral posterior poles were also found at the trend level in left TLE group. The patients with right TLE showed no significant correlation. ConclusionOur results may reflect a regional uncoupling of blood flow and metabolism in those brain areas, and they may indicate that TLE has different metabolic regulation systems in the brain.