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Epilepsy Epilepsy is a chronic brain disorder in which a patient has recurrent seizures throughout their life. The seizures are caused by abnormal electrical activity of certain cells in the brain. The ongoing threat and presence of seizures not only robs its victims of living a normal life, but also inflicts a social stigma of reduced intelligence or mental illness on them. Approximately two million people in the United States are afflicted with epilepsy, a disease that is poorly understood. Although incidental seizures occur with a greater frequency, the percentage of people suffering from reocurring seizures due to epilepsy is relatively small, about 1% of the population. Medications are available that will reduce the frequency and severity of seizures in many patients. However, there is no cure for epilepsy yet. More than 60% of people with epilepsy are able to control their seizures using medications. Patients whose seizures cannot be controlled by medication are referred to as patients with intractable seizures. Surgery may be considered for patients who have seizures that affect their quality of life or whose seizures are localized to a small part of the brain. The goal of this surgery is to remove the part of the brain that is causing the seizures. For the patients that qualify, surgery may be the only option in order for them to resume normal activities. Accurate localization of the focus of the seizure activity is critically important for surgical treatment - and PET scanning can help. Top of this Page | Back to Brain Disorders PET and EpilepsySeizures are the result of abnormal "synchronized firing" of a cluster of brain cells. These cells become metabolically very active during the seizure, and in most patients remain less active than normal brain tissue between seizures. How the seizures present in symptoms differs depending on which part of the brain is involved. If surgery is determined to be the best option for treatment, accurate identification of the location of the brain tissue involved is critical. Identifying the source of the seizure activity within the brain may lead to a surgical removal of this tissue, enabling the seizures to be stopped completely or at least reduced significantly. Using an imaging drug that is like glucose (sugar), the PET scan will show how the tissues in the brain are functioning (See How PET Works). Areas of less function use less energy, and areas with increased metabolic activity use more energy. The PET scan shows those differences in functional activity. During a seizure, the area responsible for the seizure will show up as an area of increased glucose use. Between the seizures, PET shows a characteristic pattern of reduced need for glucose. PET FDG imaging, especially when performed concurrently with surface EEG measurements, may be useful for localizing all of the seizure foci for surgical resection. Without PET, patients would be forced to have an invasive procedure that requires depth electrodes being placed directly on the surface of the brain so that the electrical activity can be measured over a period of time. For the many patients that can be controlled by modern medications, surgery would not be considered. However, for those that cannot be controlled, PET provides an alternative test to help plan the surgery. PET is a very useful test when doctors are identifying the source of seizure activity in the brain because it can non-invasively identify the metabolic focus for possible surgical removal and determine if there is more than one focus. Top of this Page | Back to Brain Disorders Case Study
More InformationEpilepsy is devastating to both the patient and caregiver. Several organizations provide information and support to patients and their families, including: |
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