REGIONAL CEREBRAL BLOOD-FLOW IN PATIENTS WITH FOCAL ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC ABNORMALITIES

Interictal regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was determined in 20 adult patients with partial epileptic seizures by means of Xe 133 inhalation method. A cerebrograph (NOVO Diagnostic System, Hadsund, Denmark) with 16 scintillation detectors was used for the measurements. The patients were selected on the basis of the clinical picture and EEG findings. Seventeen patients had normal CT scan of the brain, while the scans of the remaining three patients showed atrophic changes. The patients were divided into two groups, one containing those with the EEG focus located in the left temporal lobe (N = 11) and the otehr those with the focus in the right temporal lobe (N = 9). On the basis of comparison with a control group (N = 20) we made the conclusion that the rCBF levels are significantly reduced (p < 0.01) in the region of the EEG focus, regardless of which hemisphere is involved.