Carbon-11-methionine PET in focal cortical dysplasia: A comparison with fluorine-18-FDG PET and technetium-99m-ECD SPECT

Masayuki Sasaki, Yasuo Kuwabara, Tsuyoshi Yoshida, Toshimitsu Fukumura, Takato Morioka, Shunji Nishio, Masashi Fukui, Kouji Masuda

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

51 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Focal cortical dysplasia is one of the known neuronal migration disorders and has recently been recognized as a cause of intractable epilepsy. In this study, we assessed the 11C-methionine (MET) uptake in focal cortical dysplasia by PET, and then compared the results with that of 18F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) PET and 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer (ECD) SPECT. Methods: Four patients (3 men, 1 woman; age range 16-68 yr) were examined by PET and SPECT for a presurgical examination of medically intractable seizures. In all 4 patients, 11C-MET PET was performed for 15 min, started 15 min after the administration of 511-662 MBq MET. In 3 of 4 patients, FDG PET was performed for 15 min, and started 20 min after the administration of 185-370 MBq FDG. In all 4 patients, the cerebral blood flow was also evaluated by 99mTc-ECD SPECT for 15 min after the administration of 600 MBq ECD. Results: In MET PET, all 4 lesions were visually recognized to have high MET uptake areas. The MET uptake of the lesions was 1.44 ± 0.30 for the standardized uptake value (SUV) (ranging from 0.99-1.61). In FDG PET, 2 lesions were demonstrated to have low uptake areas (3.82 in SUV) while 1 had an ictal high uptake (4.74 in SUV). In ECD SPECT, 1 lesion demonstrated hypoperfusion and 1 ictal hyperperfusion while 2 showed no abnormalities. All 4 patients underwent a cortical resection and the microscopic examinations were consistent with those of focal cortical dysplasia but no evidence of a tumor was found. Conclusion: MET PET is useful for identifying focal cortical dysplasia as a high uptake area.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)974-977
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Nuclear Medicine
Volume39
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - Jun 1998

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Carbon-11-methionine PET in focal cortical dysplasia: A comparison with fluorine-18-FDG PET and technetium-99m-ECD SPECT'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this